The Knights of Columbus have produced a new documentary exploring the life of Pope Francis, the first Roman Catholic pontiff from the Americas. Francis: The Pope from the New World sheds light into the pope’s past from interviews with those closest to him: family, friends, and his official biographer.
The hour-long film is set to premiere on the Fox Business Network on October 20, 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio — ordained a Catholic priest in December, 1969 — served as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 1998 to 2013. He was then elected pope in March 13, 2013, and was the first to take the name Francis, after St. Francis of Assisi.
“Still, what remain largely unknown to the public are many details of Pope Francis’ life, the work he has done and the ways in which he has defended the voiceless and Catholic principles” said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, one of the film’s executive producers.
From the press release:
The documentary begins with the electrifying moment when the new pope stands before the crowd in St. Peter’s Square on March 13, the day of his election. It then takes viewers through both the ordinary and climactic events of his life, from family dynamics, to his call to the priesthood, to his support for the San Lorenzo soccer team, to his care for those in the slums of Buenos Aires.
It traces his work for those threatened in Argentina’s Dirty War that coincided with Fr. Bergoglio’s time as Jesuit provincial, his advocacy for those affected by economic and political turmoil, and the opposition he sometimes encountered from Argentina’s political elites.