Former Italian actress Claudia Koll is in Malta, not to shoot a movie, but to preach the gospel of Christ.

The 51-year-old took part in several movies and her career also dwelled into the erotic cinematography. Speaking after yesterday’s mass at St Catherine’s Church in Valletta, Koll spoke of how she had to abandon her former self to become a completely different person.

She explained how her conversion started almost coincidentally when she was accompanying an American friend to St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

“That one simple visit, started a chain reaction which I could not understand,” she said.

The first thing she did after her little tour at the Vatican, she told her house maid to visit the basilica with the promise that she would experience something very different.

At this stage, Koll was working on a movie related to the mafia. She played the part of a woman whose husband is shot and is struggling for his life while in coma.

“I prepared myself for the part just like in any other movie. But for some reason, I just could not act naturally. I was supposed to cry during a particular scene where I’m sitting next to the bed of the person in coma. But, although I dwelled into my past to find a sad memory, I just couldn’t force any tears.”

“I managed to find the pain which was supposed to make me cry, but nothing happened. I was like an instrument playing out of tune.”

She remembered how one of the directors of the movie told her something very strong which left a mark throughout the years.

“He told me, if you are not true to yourself, how can you transmit the truth to the public? At that point, I realized something was holding me back from being authentic.”

She said God had somehow managed to revive her conscience and how she suddenly became aware of her sins.

“To those who are angry with God, I tell you; we are in a constant fight between good and evil, and to fight evil you need to let go and be with God.”

In her brief account of her life, Koll told those present how at some point in her life, before the conversion, she experimented with other spiritual means.

She spoke of an evil spirit who wanted to force her into hating.

“But I managed to push away hate, by choosing love.”

“God did not just liberate me from this evil spirit, but he took me on a new spiritual journey,” she added.

“My prayer became the screaming of my soul and God answered whenever I called him father.”

Claudia Koll insisted that the father one finds in God is a very special one. “I asked God; what kind of father are you? How come you don’t judge me for who I am?”

Her secret to keep her faith strong and evil spirits away was prayer and the daily Eucharist. “This is my transformation, which is occurring daily, one step at a time.”

Claudia Koll was a very successful actress back in the nineties. She had the opportunity to host the Sanremo Festival. Five years after her encounter with God in the year 2000, Koll set up an association called The Works of God.

Koll came to Malta by invitation from the Magnificat group. 

Video and photos James Bianchi