‘Bachelor’ Sean Lowe’s Faith and Prayer Highlighted in Season Finale

Nearly 10 million people tuned in to watch Sean Lowe propose to either Catherine Giudici or Lindsay Yenter on The Bachelor Monday night. In addition to love and heartbreak, those viewers also saw several references to prayer.

The bachelor closed out the the season the same way he opened it—with family and prayer.

Lowe, 29, who was previously on The Bachelorette, is a proud Christian, and has even called himself a “born-again virgin.” Though he’s had sex in the past, he recommitted to his faith and has taken a vow of celibacy until marriage.

“I believe what the Bible says, basically to sum it up,” he said in a conference call on Tuesday.

His parents, Jay and Sherry Lowe, are also Christians. Sean’s dad told Yenter that he and his wife have prayed “every day since he was born” for Sean’s future wife.

In his speech to Yenter, Lowe said, “I’ve been so confused and I’ve been searching for clarity and praying for clarity and I think I’ve finally gotten it.”

Sean “wants to propose once, be married once and live a faithful family life, like his parents, who have had a loving 35-year union,” his bio on ABC’s website says. “He wants to be the patriarch of a family that is centered on faith, love and laughter.”

The Texas native, who is part of a non-denominational Christian church, said in the conference call that his faith community provided a lot of support to him during his time on The Bachelor.

He added that if the ratings were up this season because of his wholesome nature and commitment to God, “I think that’s a great thing. There needs to be more of that on television.”

Lowe’s fiancee [spoiler!], Catherine Giudici, who has started attending a non-denominational Christian church in suburban Seattle, said she grew up learning about “different religions” and has always believed in God.

She said she was “excited to learn about Christianity and be a believer.” She added, “It’s something that is important to our future and our family.”

In a separate conference call, runner-up Lindsay Yenter said she relied on prayer to help her get through the heartbreak after Sean sent her home.

“I couldn’t have gone through this situation without praying about it,” she noted. “I believe Christ gave me a lot of confidence and non-jealousy issues. … It was hard and a different situation but all in all I think it was for the best intentions and I don’t think it’s wrong.”

Though some may have criticized Lowe for all the smooching he did on the show—including one that reportedly set the Guinness World Record for the longest on-screen kiss—he said he didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.

“Kissing is just a part of showing affection, it’s romantic,” he said. “I don’t regret that.”

Lowe became a Christian in sixth grade, was a member of The Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and was actively involved in his church’s youth group. He was also sharing his faith with fellow contestants on The Bachelorette.

“I brought my Bible and my devotional to the show,” he told Priscilla Shirer of Going Beyond Ministries. “I’d sit outside, read Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, and then spend time in the Word. Eventually, I found myself reading the book out loud, and soon enough, five or six guys would sit around and listen to it.

“Every day, I’d have guys ask me to borrow the book,” he continued. “I had awesome opportunities to share my faith, and eventually I gave the book to one of the guys because he couldn’t keep his nose out of it.”

Lowe and Giudici plan on getting married during a television event, which The Bachelor host Chris Harrison said will likely happen this summer.