“The Face of Mercy,” a new Knights of Columbus documentary that uses personal accounts to highlight the impact of God’s mercy on people’s lives, will air on many ABC-affiliated TV stations from October 16 to December 16.
“Throughout the 20th century, the Catholic understanding of Divine Mercy became increasingly important. Both St. John Paul II, and Pope Francis, who declared this Year of Mercy, made it a central theme of their papacies,” said Knights of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson. “This extraordinary film highlights the sort of transformations that are possible in individual lives that embrace the way of mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation.”
Narrated by actor Jim Caviezel, “The Face of Mercy” draws connections between the history of Divine Mercy and this year’s Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, which will end November 20, 2016. It also shows mercy’s role in the transformation of the lives of ordinary people.
The documentary explores how Pope St. John Paul II inherited and shared the message of Divine Mercy revealed to a Polish nun, Sister Faustina Kowalska in the first half of the 20th century. While still an archbishop in Poland, John Paul worked to gain the Church’s approval of the message revealed to Sister Faustina. Her message was embraced, and the pope who had worked so hard to spread her message declared her a saint in 2000.
These two Polish saints—Faustina and John Paul II—together propelled the image of Divine Mercy—and insight into the concept—onto the world stage. That work continues as Pope Francis continues to promote Divine Mercy during the Jubilee Year of Mercy now underway in the Catholic Church.
Filmed in 4K high definition, the project weaves theology and history with modern testimonials to reveal what constitutes the face of mercy in people’s lives, and how it is the antidote to evil even in the most difficult times.
The individuals featured include Immaculée Ilibagiza, who found freedom in forgiveness after seeing her family wiped out by genocide in Rwanda; a former-NFL linebacker who walked away from his sports career to share Christ’s mercy with the homeless; a baseball player who traded major league ambitions for a priestly vocation; a priest with a drug-dealing past; and a young widow who chose to forgive her husband’s killer. All witness to mercy in incredible ways in their own lives.
“These moving testimonies remind us that Divine Mercy is not just a devotion or theological concept—it is alive, it is present, and it is a force that can transform the world,” said Anderson.
More information about the film, including broadcast times and the DVD release, is available at www.faceofmercyfilm.com
