'Touched By An Angel's' Roma Downey Reveals How Her Faith Helped Her Cope With Grief

Roma Downey, who is best known for starring in the 1990s television show “Touched By An Angel,” recently released a new epic Biblical film called Resurrection. It tells the story of the immediate aftermath of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Check out the trailer for this movie, which Downey produced with her husband Mark Burnett, below.

Downey Discusses Her Faith

Downey sat down with Fox News recently to promote the movie. During the interview, she opened up about how her Christian faith has helped her overcome grief as well as other tough moments in her life.

“I am no stranger to grief,” Downey explained. “I lost my mother when I was only 10. She died unexpectedly of a heart attack. I lost my dad when I was in college. In recent years, I lost my beloved Della Reese, who co-starred with me in ‘Touched by an Angel.’ She was like a mother to me. And my brother.”

“I mention this because I’m someone who has lost a lot of people [I] love, but I don’t think I would have been able to endure any one of those losses without the hope of the resurrection, without the promise of the resurrection,” she added.

Downey went on to specifically describe how her faith helped her through these difficult moments.

“It was my faith that buoyed me,” she said. “It was my faith that kept me from sinking to my knees. It was my faith that helped me stand back up again. I have been able to make a choice to live my best life, to try to honor the memory of my mom and dad. But there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t miss them. I so wish they were around.”

Downey Saw ‘Touched By An Angel’ As A ‘Divine Post’

Downey also shared how she felt when she was cast on “Touched By An Angel,” she saw it as a “divine post.”

“And as a believer, it was like a divine post,” she said of being cast as an angel on the popular show. “I got to be the messenger each week and deliver a message of God’s love. And at the height of the show’s success, over 25 million people tuned in each week. And I believe that they were tuning in for that message. And the message was simple really.”

“In each episode, the message was that there is a God, that he loves us and he wants to be a part of our lives,” Downey added. “That same message is really embedded in all the work that I do, whether I’m in front of the camera or behind it. I want to use this platform to share the love of God. It has been such a privilege and such a joy.”

Downey Thinks ‘Resurrection’ Will Resonate Now More Than Ever

Downey concluded her interview by saying that the message behind Resurrection will resonate with people more than ever right now “because of the COVID pandemic, we’ve all been isolated. We’ve all been disconnected from each other in some ways.”

“We’re all ready to step out,” she continued. “We’re ready to see a resurrection in our own lives. And it’s comforting to be reminded that we are part of a greater family of 2.2 billion sons and daughters of a loving God. I find that to be a great reminder especially during times where I’m hardly seeing anybody. I think this is a story we all needed.”

It’s so rare to see a Hollywood star who is actually open about their Christian faith these days, much less one who is actively using her platform to promote Christianity the way Downey is.

God bless her for doing that. You can watch Resurrection on Discovery+.

Watch Downey talk more about this movie in the video below.