Martin Scorsese illuminates history's boldest saints in Fox Nation series he 'didn't believe could be done'
Martin Scorsese's passion project comes to Fox Nation, following a series of history's greatest heroes and the impact their lives continue to have years later.
A wrongfully accused girl burned at the stake; a man twice sentenced to death by a merciless Roman emperor; an apostle beheaded at the whim of a vengeful queen; a Franciscan monk who sacrificed his life to save another at a Nazi death camp…
While the backgrounds, circumstances and the context of their bravery widely vary, these saints share one powerful bond: their unyielding devotion and sacrifice that echoes across the ages.
Now the focus of Fox Nation's newest riveting docuseries, "The Saints," — brought to the streaming service by none other than legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese — they stand as testaments of faith unbroken by persecution and courage undiminished by threat.
"A 14-year-old girl hears voices – the voices of saints, the word of God. They tell her to dress in men's clothes, organize an army, lead French soldiers into battle to put the Armagnac king on the throne, which she does," Scorsese, "creative Godfather" of the series, said while reflecting on its first episode.
If the story of this 14-year-old who cemented her role in history probably sounds familiar, it's because it is.
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She's better known as Joan of Arc – a tenacious leader who believed she was chosen by divine forces to save France from ruin — but her downfall came when she became known as a threat and was wrongfully accused of heresy and witchcraft by the Catholic clergy sympathetic to the English cause.
"She becomes a political liability, she's captured, she's tried, she's condemned, she's burned at the stake and, at that point, a dove soars out of the fire [as she draws her last breath]…" the famed filmmaker continued.
Scorsese tells Fox Nation viewers that Joan's entire body burned to ash except for her heart, which miraculously remained intact and full of blood.
At least, that's the story according to witnesses.
For her, sainthood would take nearly 500 years, coming in 1920 when she was canonized as the patron saint of soldiers by the very church that had condemned her to death.
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"The Saints" series opens with Joan of Arc's deeply primal and inspiring tale — available for streaming now on Fox Nation — which had its global premiere at the Whitby Hotel in New York City on Thursday. The exclusive screening featured a panel discussion hosted by Scorsese himself.
"I didn't believe it could be done," Scorsese told the live audience, explaining that the project had initially been conceived of seven years ago — though he's "always" wanted to make this.
"I grew up practically living in the St. Patrick's Old Cathedral downtown, contemplating, meditating those statues of the saints, different saints, and wondering about their stories," Scorsese explained. "What is a saint? Is it something superhuman? Can they achieve something easier than we can because we’re human beings? I realized, ‘No,’" he added. "The point is they’re human."
Scorsese, who won the Academy Award for Best Director for his 2006 masterpiece, "The Departed," is no stranger to having explored the topic of faith with such works as "Silence" and "The Last Temptation of Christ" — the latter of which he joked was "banned by everyone." The filmmaker said he was especially compelled to bring history's boldest saints to life because they each begged the question: "How can people live a life of compassion and love?"
Another saint who embodied such compassion and love was Polish friar Maxmilian Kolbe, whose episode was also screened at the Whitby on Thursday.
His is a more modern tale that takes viewers back to 1940s Europe, where, in the midst of the Second World War and the Holocaust, Kolbe makes the ultimate sacrifice at Auschwitz, volunteering to die in place of a stranger who had a family… and meeting a brutal end.
Kolbe, who was believed by some to share antisemitic stereotypes at the height of the war, was "converted by humanity" when, as the film shows, he died next to a Jewish prisoner after suffering torturous conditions — a man whom, in his final gesture, he called his "brother."
The patron saint of prisoners — and journalists — would be canonized in 1982. The man whose life he saved was in attendance.
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"I think [stories of the saints] started with people just telling stories of men and women who did extraordinary things and were extraordinary people, who stood up to injustice and cruelty and risked their lives to help other people," Scorsese said.
The filmmaker told his live audience how important he feels it is to spotlight these very saints for new generations to come, bringing pieces of the past to the present and the future.
"Maybe the fact that there are saints, were saints and still are saints is something that’s lost on our newest generation. Because we don’t live with them. So, we thought this was a good attempt to try and understand what that is and what faith is, really."
Even now, years after their deaths, the saints' legacies live on — bridging the gap between humanity and something bigger.
"I had the impression that many people are trying to find religion outside of religion… some people invest their energy in politics and justice. For many, there's meditation and mindfulness… in general, I know there's a fear of religion, of the intimacy of belief," Scorsese continued, "So, I think the message is… we've seen radical loves and radical redemption and radical acceptance. I use the term ‘radical’ because these things are always revelatory… to do that [love others, etc.] you have to expose yourself."
"You have to risk failure, and embarrassment and rejection… all of this at any given moment, but that's what gives you a way of possibly seeing more widely and deeply."
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"Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints" will premiere in two parts, with the first four episodes set to release on Sunday, November 17, and the final set to conclude in April and May 2025, spanning the Holy season.
The eight episodes will explore the lives of Joan of Arc, John the Baptist, Sebastian, Maximilian Kolbe, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Becket, Mary Magdalene and Moses the Black, with Scorsese and his team journeying over 2,000 years of history to focus on these extraordinary figures and their extreme acts of kindness, selflessness, and sacrifice.
To watch weekly installments of "The Saints," sign up for Fox Nation and begin streaming the series today. Fox Nation is offering a 3-month free trial with the promo code "SAINTS."
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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