‘Wrestling Priest’ displays on his redemption story – Boston Herald

Nineteen years in the past, Jack Black starred in “Nacho Libre.”

Delicate, candy, and endearing, the movie was a well-liked hit. However for Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez, there was one flaw.

The film failed to inform the true story of Benítez. He’s higher often called Fray Tormenta, the orphanage-sponsoring priest who wrestled after darkish, and whose life turned the backstory for the film’s titular character.

“There was wrestling and an orphanage, however that was not my story,” stated Tormenta, who wrestled underneath a masks to help his orphanage. “Within the film, Jack Black’s character fell in love with a nun. It was comedy, however it’s not mine.”

Talking via a translator, Tormenta revealed to the Boston Herald that he’s writing an autobiography, which is anticipated to be launched early subsequent yr. At age 80, with failing eyesight and frail well being, he believes now’s the time to share his story.

“I can’t inform my story when I’m useless,” stated Tormenta, who has partnered with the revolutionary – and aptly named – Masked Republic media group to publish his e book. “I would like to inform the true story of my redemption. It was by no means about chasing fame, however all the time in regards to the glory of supporting my orphanage.”

Born into poverty in Mexico, Tormenta was the seventeenth of 18 kids. Now the lone survivor amongst his siblings, Tormenta almost turned a statistic of the saddest type as an adolescent when he wrestled with the demons of dependancy.

“It’s not like I had any cash, so I needed to steal,” stated Tormenta. “Heroin, cocaine, I needed to preserve the cycle going. I used to be on the cusp of dying. My life reached the purpose the place it was a dwelling hell.”

Tormenta ultimately discovered salvation via the church. But that was not the case at first.

“A priest informed me that the church was not a spot for an addict like me,” stated Tormenta. “Once I cursed out that priest, he threw me out. That’s the second I noticed that the world can be higher with caring monks, ones that wished to assist all folks.”

In Might 1973, at age 28, Tormenta formally turned an ordained priest. Even when “Nacho Libre” didn’t totally seize Tormenta’s story, it was, in reality, a film – “El Senor Tormenta,” detailing the journey of a poor priest wrestling at evening to help his orphanage – that ceaselessly modified the course of his life.

Sure, a movie a few wrestling priest impressed a priest to wrestle – which then served because the inspiration for a movie a few wrestling priest.

“I assumed wrestling can be an ideal approach to make cash for the orphans, who wanted extra meals and hotter clothes,” stated Tormenta. “So I educated for a yr and a half within the morning earlier than mass, protecting my bruises earlier than I went to church. However once I had my first match, it wasn’t what I used to be anticipating. As a substitute of 1,000,000 {dollars}, I used to be making 5 {dollars} a match.”

Tormenta’s non secular affiliation didn’t stop him from getting bodily with gang members making an attempt to cease him from spreading the gospel – or from providing one other perspective with the prostitutes who repeatedly launched themselves to patrons as they left church.

But turning into a priest was sacred, motivating Tormenta to cover his wrestling id.

“I didn’t need anybody in wrestling to know I used to be a priest,” stated Tormenta. “I wrestled for greater than three years earlier than it was found. When it was revealed, it didn’t upset folks – and even the church. When phrase acquired out that I used to be a priest supporting my orphanage, we began to have sellouts. Individuals have been curious to see the wrestling priest. They waited for me outdoors the sector and gave me baggage of rice and beans, even garments for the youngsters.

“God has a goal and a plan for us. I didn’t all the time perceive it, however I now know this was the way in which it was all the time presupposed to be.”

One slight remorse for Tormenta is that he has but to go to Boston, which was dwelling to the famed Boston Backyard.

“I made all of it the way in which to Enviornment Mexico, however wrestling in Boston Backyard stays past my wildest desires,” stated Tormenta. “My pal from Mexico was a priest that frolicked dwelling in Boston, and he would costume like a clown for kids affected by most cancers. Typically we get caught up in what we’re doing and lose sight of what’s vital in life. What he did was very vital for these kids.”

Tormenta’s orphanage has supported greater than 2,000 kids over the previous 40 years, illustrating {that a} fictional in-ring superhero can double as one in actual life. And he continues to serve via automobile wash fundraisers, wrestling T-shirt gross sales, and even comic-con appearances that every one increase funds for his orphanage, the Youngsters’s Dwelling for Fray Tormenta’s Cubs.

“That’s why I acquired into wrestling, to assist these in want,” stated Tormenta. “It’s what God referred to as me to do. Till I’m going to heaven, that is my mission. So long as I can, I’ll proceed.”