By REY FLORES
What better way to spend St. Patrick’s Day this year than to watch the epic new film I Am Patrick: The Patron Saint of Ireland? This film, which will be in theaters for only two days, tells the story of one of our most revered and popular saints through re-enactments, expert interviews, and writings from the saint himself, which detail his journey to sainthood.
The feature-length docudrama film features celebrated actor John Rhys-Davies, known for his role in The Lord of the Rings, as the older Patrick. Fellow actors Sean T. O’Meallaigh and Robert McCormack portray the younger Patrick in the film.
While several films have been made about St. Patrick, this particular presentation goes further in depth to teach us more about the trials and tribulations of a man on a mission to bring the love of Jesus Christ and the Church to pagans and other heathens in and around Ireland and Britain.
I always enjoyed sharing the stories of the saints with my children. One of our favorite saints was always St. Patrick, from the children’s book about the saint by famous author Tomie dePaola, to the film St. Patrick: The Irish Legend released in 2000 by Fox Family Channel, which was definitely a lower-budget production. It starred actor Patrick Bergin in the lead role.
This new film’s synopsis reads: “In the fifth century, the Roman Empire was collapsing, and barbarians threatened civilization. In Britain, a teenager named Patrick was living a comfortable life as the son of a government official. Despite being part of the Roman Catholic Church, his faith didn’t mean anything to him until he was kidnapped by pirates at the age of 16 and enslaved at the edge of the known world — Ireland.
“For six years, Patrick was forced to work as a shepherd and was driven to the brink of starvation. It was there he turned to his Christian faith and through divine intervention managed to escape. He was reunited with his family in Britain only to have a prophetic dream calling him to take Christianity back to the land of his captivity.
“Against the wishes of his family and the Church, Patrick returned as a missionary bishop to Ireland and converted thousands to Christianity. He opposed slavers, Irish kings, and possibly Druids, but nothing compared to the hostility he faced from his fellow Christians. After a close friend exposed a dark secret of Patrick’s, it is believed he was ordered to leave his mission and return to Britain. Patrick had to choose — obey God or obey man?”
I like how Christian filmmakers and the media companies like the Christian Broadcast Network (CBN), the distributor of this new film, are bringing the always timeless and relevant stories of the saints to today’s very polarized world.
Ever since Jesus’ time, we have been a people under attack and persecution. It is important that these stories continue to be told through the generations, especially taking advantage of popular social media platforms which reach millions upon millions of people throughout the world.
Let’s hope projects like I Am Patrick: The Patron Saint of Ireland will inspire future storytellers to continue sharing these terrific true stories of the mighty people who converted countless people into Christianity, particularly our beloved Catholic faith.
Again, I Am Patrick will be in theaters for two days only, March 17-18, 2020, by Fathom Events, so be sure to make your plans now so that you and your loved ones do not miss it. A terrific film for families and church and youth groups. Visit FathomEvents.com for tickets, locations, and show times.
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(Rey Flores writes opinion and book and movie reviews for The Wanderer. Contact Rey at reyfloresusa@gmail.com.)
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