Religion is often a big focus for people, and it’s bigger for junior Otello Alessio IV than for most. Alessio may not appear to be religious, but as much as he is interested in movies and pop culture — given the humor he has and the quotes he often brings to a conversation — he is undoubtedly faithful.

Alessio’s family played a huge role in his religion. Alessio attends a Catholic high school. “On top of that, we are also super involved with our church,” Alessio said.

Alessio found a desire to be a priest two years ago. Alessio has talked to God multiple times about the uptaking of this role and thinks that he’s being called. “I think it’s a great decision and that it suits him well,” Alessio’s friend, junior Steven Plourde said.

Getting baptized can happen at a young age, and confirmation is often the next step. Because of this, Alessio has gotten confirmed, which is a rite of passage undertaken by Christians to deepen their faith. . By doing so, Alessio has received the gifts of the holy spirit, which are multiple different traits. “The seven gifts are piety, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, council, fortitude and fear of the lord, which isn’t fear, but is more like respect,” Alessio said.

Alessio’s friends find him to be enjoyable to be around and enjoy his sense of humor. Plourde describes him as considerate and one of the most polite people he’s ever met. Alessio’s friend, senior Marc Lachrite, describes Alessio as humorous, trustworthy and fair. “I expected him to have a big sense of humor and was surprised by the number of ‘your mom’ jokes he would make,” Lachrite said.

Having “The Fourth” in your name is also a cool touch to Alessio. His father and grandfather also carried the name of “Otello”. This name came to be when Alessio’s great grandfather’s uncle was in a play called Othello. “Having the name is pretty cool, I get many compliments and it’s got a cool story behind it, ” Alessio said.

Alessio’s hobbies include watching movies and shows and playing video games. Two of his favorite movies are Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. “I like Lord of the Rings because it’s not just the story of this incredible adventure, it’s sort of an allegory for Jesus and that old story, so I think that it’s cool that [J. R. R. Tolkien] put that in there and there’s still a great story behind it,” he said.

Alessio treasures time, and one of Alessio’s favorite quotes is, “All that we have to do is to decide what to do with the time given to us,” from Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring.