During one of the most painful moments of her life, Roma Downey turned to God. As a child, the former “Touched By an Angel” star’s mother died of a heart attack. She told Fox News Digital, “My mother died when I was just a little girl. I was only 10. And I can honestly say if we hadn’t had our faith to support us and our church community to surround us. Life brought us to our knees. But while we were down there, we prayed. We prayed for strength, we prayed for understanding, we prayed for comfort. And the Lord provided. [Faith is] central to who I am and in my work.”
Downey is starring in the faith-based series “The Baxters” on Amazon Prime. It explores how a family turns to God during tough times. It features Kathie Lee Gifford, her daughter Cassidy Gifford and Ted McGinley of “Married… With Children” fame. Many fans still recognize Downey from “Touched By an Angel,” which became one of TV’s highest-rated dramas. The series, which told the tale of three angels sent to Earth to give people comfort, aired from 1994 until 2003. Downey described how it’s been essential in her decades-long career in Hollywood to create faith-based content for families.
Downey said, “Not everybody is able to bring what they believe into what they do, particularly in show business. But I’ve consistently done that from my days on ‘Touched By an Angel’ through producing ‘The Bible’ series to last Easter’s Prime Video movie, ‘On a Wing and a Prayer’ with Dennis Quaid, which was a story of hope and faith. I’m committed to telling stories that inspire and uplift. It’s a space I want to be in. It’s the work that I think is important.” In 2016, it was announced that the Emmy winner and her husband, reality TV producer Mark Burnett, were launching LightWorkers Media, a faith and family entertainment broadcast. It aims to “create engaging uplifting and inspirational content,” as well as motivate “people to celebrate and share the good all around them,” the network’s website states.
She said, “God is the light. We’re the workers. And our mantra always has been that it’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. So, stories of hope interest me. So, making ‘The Baxters’ a hope opera is certainly something that is part of my life’s purpose, part of the calling on my life really, to help people feel connected and closer to God.” Viewers will see how faith is the glue that keeps the Baxters together. It was no different from Downey’s upbringing.
Downey said, “I grew up in a family that was quick to pray. My father used to say, ‘The family that prays together stays together.’ We rarely, as people of faith, get to see faithful families on television, stopping an everyday activity and just praying. And yet, we see that often in ‘The Baxters.’ Downey insisted that even those who don’t share her faith will still appreciate the series and its message.
“Everybody’s got a family. Every family’s got problems,” she said. “But for people of faith, I think it will be very meaningful to see a church-going family leading this story. For me, since ‘Touched By an Angel,’ I haven’t really been on television much. I’ve mostly been producing and writing. And so, to get back in front of the camera [and play] Elizabeth Baxter has been very fun.”