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Actor Mark Wahlberg is opening up about his relationship with Jesus as he teams up with Hallow for the “Pray40” Lent Challenge.
Lent is a penitential time of year where Christians all over the world remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and devote time to fast and pray in preparation to celebrate his Resurrection on Easter. “Pray40” is designed to help people “journey back home to the Lord,” through the sharing of prayer, Bible stories, religious music and more, according to the company.
One key part of Lent for many people is to focus on giving up something and striving to grow closer to God. Wahlberg is focused on “spreading the Word,” being more thoughtful and sharing his story during the Lenten season.
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Mark Wahlberg visits “Fox & Friends” at Fox News Channel Studios on Feb. 18, 2026, in New York City. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)
“There’s a lot of things that we could do without,” he told Fox News. “I mean, most of the time I want to throw my phone out the window, right? I’m getting hammered with stuff and inundated with stuff all the time, but for me, I usually really just try to focus on doing more, you know, doing better. You know, because I’m constantly encouraging people to… eat right, exercise, because it’s just going to feel better.”
Wahlberg revealed how discipline plays a massive role in his day-to-day life.
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“Discipline has afforded me so much… and the first thing I do when I wake up is I pray, you know, I express my gratitude and I ask for direction and I ask for the strength and the ability to do what I’m supposed to do and to utilize the talents and gifts that God’s given me for his purpose and to do godly things and not focus so much on worldly things and I have a lot of responsibility,” he shared.
Mark Wahlberg has been proudly open about the role faith plays in his daily life. (Getty Images)
Wahlberg shared that his life was touched by “key people” who came into his life at a “pivotal time” and pointed him to God.
“When things were difficult and my friends were no longer around, and there was a woman who would come to see me or a priest who would talk to us when we were standing out in the corner at 3 o’clock in the morning at 13 years old, those are the things that I remembered,” he said.
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Mark Wahlberg and Pope Francis spoke during the World Meeting of Families on Sept. 26, 2015, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ( Carl Court/Getty Images)
“We were exposed to so much trouble,” he recalled. “You know, drugs, gangs, violence, all that stuff was right out there. It wasn’t in the home, but my parents divorced when we were 11, and we were kind of left to our own devices as they were just basically trying to be able to provide and put food on the table.”
Wahlberg said the priest who had such a great impact on him at 13 is “still in his life to this day” and continues to be a “wonderful influence” on him as he shares his faith with the world.