Martin Scorsese has opened up his experience that “was not so great” as an altar boy.

At the premiere of Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints, he candidly shared with People how he viewed saints in his childhood.

At the time, the American filmmaker recalled his experience when he served as the altar boy at the Catholic church and began by saying, “I wasn’t so great at it. It was very hard for me to be there on time for the 7:00 Mass.”

“I would always be late. The priest had to say, ‘You can’t go on like this,’” he added. “It’s amazing the impact of being back there while the High Mass was being celebrated.”

“Who are these people? And why are they elevated, so to speak, to something special, sainthood? Were these saints human? As a young person, you thought maybe they were more than human, and that’s something I’ve been fascinated by since that time,” the Goodfellas director concluded.

Previously, he revealed the purpose of telling the stories of historical saints in his series during a conversation with The New York Times.

The Oscar winner went on to say, “The world as it is now, it is good to have examples of people who led their lives through compassion and love.”

“Some are martyrs; some died for it. Some of the eight that were chosen deal with legend, but the legend does come from one or two facts.”

“Legends grow out of actions that really did mean the sacrifice of someone. It’s all about faith, something one struggles toward. It’s always been important to me,” he added, before signing off.

Martin Scorsese’s eight-part docudrama series The Saints was released on November 17, 2024.