Martin Scorcese is the executive producer of this series and he introduces each episode with some historical context. He also narrates with more backgrounds of the characters. He later leads a panel of Catholics in a discussion after each episode. The Jesuit priest, James Martin is my favorite of the group.
Joan of Arc is the subject of the first episode and Liah O'Prey is the right choice for the role, although she is in her early twenties and Joan was between the ages of sixteen and nineteen. I knew of her plight as I attended Catholic school in my early years. Her treatment by the pompous inquisitors was disgusting and it ends, as expected, with fire and brimstone.
John the Baptist is next, and it is a beautifully filmed segment with a spectacular marble bath with King Herod bathing in splendor as he consults with his wife and Salome. John has made a few disparaging comments on the two women and later on after a sultry dance by Salome, Herod vows to carry out any of her requests. Meanwhile, John has baptized Jesus in the Jordan River and continues the practice with others. The king is indifferent but he fulfills his stepdaughter's wish and she receives John's head on a silver platter.
Saint Sebastian is next and I was not familiar with this man. Joan and John are well known but the saint from the fourth century did not have their PR agents. Sebastian was a high ranking officer of the Roman king and he participated in the torture and murders of Christians while secretly joining the flock. His sainthood was assured after he suffered and died for the One True Church.
Maximillian Kolbe was a Polish-German Franciscan priest who was at Auschwitz in 1941 when a prisoner escaped. The camp commander gave the order to starve ten prisoners to death as punishment. Kolbe took the place of a man who begged to be spared as he had a wife and children. After ten days, the future saint was near death when he was injected with carbolic acid and died like a dog. An unforgettable episode.
St. Francis is one of the most beloved of saints and those of us with an RC upbringing can recall seeing statues of the man surrounded by animals. He may have been the original bird whisperer. He was the son of a wealthy merchant who lived the life a a spoiled child until he had a vision from above requesting that he repair an abandoned church. Using stolen funds from his father, he rebuilt the church. His father disowned him and his friars are still a vital part of the modern day church.
Moses the Black was new to me, as it was to Scorcese. The Ethiopian man was the leader of a vicious criminal gang who pillaged and murdered in fourth century Egypt. While wandering in the desert he came upon a group of monks who owned nothing and prayed constantly. In time, Moses became the leader of the monks and he is the patron saint of nonviolence.
Mary Magdalene has been frequently portrayed as a prostitute but, as explained by Father James Martin, SJ. In the post episode discussion, this was a story spread by an early pope and is not true. She was a woman possessed by seven demons and she joined the twelve apostles and was the first to see the resurrected Christ. She went on to spread the the word of her Savior.
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