FILM PRODUCTION NEWS: A new film about Saint Margaret Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus - due for release February 2018

FILM PRODUCTION NEWS UPDATE

JANUARY 2018

Over the past few weeks we have been working on a new film about Saint Margaret Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We are excited to have been working on this film because it includes the devotion of the Sacred Heart of Jesus sent to England by Our Lord with Saint Claude de la Colombiere, a Jesuit priest who was Saint Margaret Mary's spiritual director.

We will be producing a separate film about Saint Claude de la Colombiere as well, having filmed some visuals for Saint Claude with Saint Margaret Mary back in March 2017.

THE RELEASE OF THIS FILM WILL BE A LANDMARK FOR
MARY'S DOWRY PRODUCTIONS
BECAUSE IT WILL BE OUR 80TH CATHOLIC DVD

There are many beautiful and inspiring books, leaflets, paintings, pictures and blog posts as well as programmes available already on the message of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Saint Margaret Mary. We wanted to have something available in our own style of film-making because we enjoy working on the lives of the Saints and also involving people in our parish on the films so that they encounter Saints they often do not know much about. It also good to have fresh resources available as well and with our films we not only present facts, details and information, but seek to make the film experiences authentically Catholic and prayerful.

Editing St Margaret Mary
© 2018 Mary's Dowry Productions

For our film about Saint Margaret Mary we decided to create a couple of small sets/backdrops in our parish hall (an 18th century Sussex flint barn) and asked friends and parishioners if they would like to portray Saint Margaret Mary, Saint Claude de la Colombiere and a couple of nuns for the film.
Filming took place in March 2018 alongside capturing footage for a film about Blessed Bartolo Longo which is now complete and available on DVD.

Editing Saint Margaret Mary film
© 2018 Mary's Dowry Productions

Editing Saint Margaret Mary film
© 2018 Mary's Dowry Productions

The narration includes the words of Jesus, in particular the great messages of His Sacred Heart, so we enlisted the voice talent of Mike Pailthorpe who has voiced Our Lord in a couple of our films as well as several English Martyrs and Saints.

Originally we had set about beginning work on this film in October but various things came along that prevented us from doing so. When we began editing once more this month (January), we received an email from a Dutch Catholic artist who attached a couple of his paintings. He had come across our films and wanted to express his affiliation with sharing the Faith through gifts such as music, film and artwork. We asked if we would be able to use a few of his paintings in our current film production and he was more than pleased to give us permission. He then explained that he had been asked how a modern artist would depict the Sacred Heart of Jesus. After much prayer and thought he knew that he did not want to copy the well-known Sacred Heart statues but decided to paint the Eucharistic Heart of Christ; Jesus' ultimate love poured out of His Sacred Heart, culminating in the Eucharist. He decided that providence had guided him to contact us at that time and attach his paintings and we agreed that it was most certainly guided! We had been having the same conversations and thoughts and his artwork fitted perfectly into our film!

A painting by Nico M Peeters used in our film
© Nico M Peeters

We are now ready to hand the avi file of the completed film over for music composition. This is the last stage of our film production process and is the most important in that the beautiful music adds an element to the overall presentation that touches the spirit and ties the whole atmosphere of the film together.

We are looking forward to releasing this film on DVD soon, making it available worldwide as well as for digital download through our Vimeo channel.

Visit our website for updates and other Catholic films:

www.marysdowryproduction.org 

Saint John Bosco and his important messages for our times - Catholic film, biography

SAINT DON BOSCO

AND HIS IMPORTANT MESSAGES FOR OUR TIMES

Last year, in January 2017, we were inspired to produce a DVD on the life of Saint Don Bosco, with the special intention of somehow presenting a selection of his dream/visions, as recorded in his autobiography and memoirs. Saint Don Bosco is mainly associated with schools and the education of children and it sometimes passes unnoticed that he was given a wealth of important aids/guides or visions for the salvation of our souls, particularly relevant today.

Saint Don Bosco's biography is fascinating in itself. He was guided by Our Lord in his dreams, which Don Bosco explained were so vivid and real that they could not really be called 'dreams' as we understand them. His first occurred when he was a boy and shaped his future and his special vocation.

As well as founding schools and assisting profoundly in the development of authentic Catholic education and catechesis, Saint Don Bosco's very life bore fruit in witnessing to holiness. He was a man of deep humility and prayer. He also worked miracles.

Oftentimes, Our Lord would instruct Saint Don Bosco through specific and important 'dreams'. As Saint Don Bosco assures, these dreams were real. For instance, after journeying to hell and back, his 'guide' or Guardian Angel, told Don Bosco to touch the outermost wall of hell and when he did so, the blistering pain that he felt remained as evidence in the sores and blisters of his swollen, red hand for many days afterwards.

In our times, when the fundamental truths of the Catholic Faith are questioned, dismissed, or forgotten, Saint Don Bosco is one of many Saints who stand out with clarity and Truth.

Our film about Saint Don Bosco is not only a detailed, informative and factual biography, but a prayerful, spiritual and authentically Catholic journey with this inspiring and important Saint for our times.

Available on DVD worldwide in all region formats,

SAINT DON BOSCO

can be ordered online through our website here:

www.marysdowryproductions.org

Our Lady of Walsingham and the English Martyrs - a film on DVD from Mary's Dowry Productions

OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM

The English Martyrs, Richeldis de Faverches and an ancient Marian Shrine in England

Statue of Our Lady of Walsingham in the restored Slipper Chapel
© 2011 Mary's Dowry Productions

In 2011 we decided to produce a film about 'Our Lady of Walsingham' with a biography of Richeldis de Faverches and why this important Marian shrine of England is linked to the English Martyrs. We decided to present the film from the Shrine of Saint Philip Howard in Arundel Cathedral because it is believed that Saint Philip Howard, who was the Earl of Arundel and cousin of Queen Elizabeth I, wrote the 'Walsingham Lament' when he visited the destroyed shrine and abbey with the Queen before his conversion to the Catholic Faith.

The Shrine of English Martyr Saint Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel
© 2011 Mary's Dowry Productions

When arrangements were made and a filming day organised we were amazed to find this statue of Our Lady of Walsingham in the Cathedral! We were able to present important sections of our film from before the Shrine of Saint Philip Howard and this beautiful visiting statue of Our Lady of Walsingham, explaining the significance of parts of the statue such as the 7 rings on the sides of the chair etc...and able to point to each part. It was a wonderful element for our film - more information on our website.

Statue of Our Lady of Walsingham in Arundel Cathedral
© 2011 Mary's Dowry Productions

Statue of Our Lady of Walsingham in Arundel Cathedral
© 2011 Mary's Dowry Productions

We also asked our resident artist to provide a pen and ink sketch of the Saxon statue of Our Lady of Walsingham being dragged to Chelsea by order of Thomas Cromwell and King Henry VIII to be burned. A tragic part of Walsingham's history.

Artist's impression of the Saxon statue of Our Lady of Walsingham dragged to Chelsea
© 2011 Mary's Dowry Productions

Richeldis de Faverches and Our Lady of Walsingham: 

Presented on location at the Shrine of English Martyr Saint Philip Howard, the Earl of Arundel, who, as he deliberated over his conversion to the outlawed Catholic Church in the 16th century, travelled to Walsingham in Norfolk with Queen Elizabeth I, his cousin, and, upon seeing the destroyed remains of the Holy House and the ancient Saxon Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham due to the Protestant Reformation, is believed to have penned the famous ‘Walsingham Lament’.

Screenshot from 'Our Lady of Walsingham' DVD
© 2011 Mary's Dowry Productions

Covering almost 1000 years of Catholic history and heritage in England, we look at the life of Richeldis de Faverches who was chosen by Our Lady to build an exact replica of the Holy House in Nazareth in Walsingham. It was there that a Saxon statue of Our Lady of Walsingham was housed in a shrine visited by pilgrims from all over Christendom until its destruction, and the burning of the Holy House, by order of King Henry VIII during the Protestant Reformation.

Richeldis de Faverches
© 2011 Mary's Dowry Productions

 We look at the Crusades due to their link with Richeldis de Faverches, the history of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, the significance of the Saxon Statue, the importance of the English Martyrs and Walsingham especially today, the effects of the Protestant Reformation in England’s Catholic culture and heritage and Our Lady of Walsingham as it was an is now, in a film that has been praised for not only presenting facts, information and details but a prayerful and spiritual film experience.

Screenshot from Our Lady of Walsingham DVD
© 2011 Mary's Dowry Productions

Screenshot from Our Lady of Walsingham DVD
© 2011 Mary's Dowry Productions

  Length and Format:
 The film runs for 40 minutes and is available worldwide on Region Free DVD Format.

Available on DVD from
www.marysdowryproductions.org

The Elizabethan persecution of Catholics - Catholic Martyrs in England and Wales - promoting the Saints through the New Media

THE ELIZABETHAN PERSECUTION

We were blessed to begin our journey with the Martyrs of England, Scotland and Wales (and Ireland) in 1987, when our family joined the pilgrimage to Rome for the Beatification of George Haydock and the eighty five blessed Martyrs. The blessed Martyrs of Great Britain have stayed with us since and in 2007 we produced our first film about one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales, Saint Philip Howard, the Earl of Arundel. 

10 years later we have a selection of films about many of our English Martyrs which not only present facts, details and information but a spiritual and prayerful film experience.

THE ELIZABETHAN PERSECUTION was the longest lasting of all waves of Catholic persecution in England following King Henry VIII's break from the Catholic Church. The Elizabethan persecution came under Elizabeth I, who succeeded Mary, but it only began some years into her reign. Protestantism was restored permanently under Elizabeth; in 1559 by act of Parliament she became 'supreme governor' of the realm 'in all spiritual and ecclesiastical things' as well as in 'temporal matters', in other words head of the Church as well as of the State.

Bishops had to take a new oath of supremacy or lose their sees, the use of the Book of Common Prayer was obligatory for the clergy and the laity were subject to fines if they failed to attend Protestant service in their parish churches on Sundays.

Saint Margaret Clitherow and her husband John Clitherow
© 2009 Mary's Dowry Productions

Some refused to submit to the new order and had to go into hiding or exile, while many conformed at least externally but held on to the old faith and practised it in secret. With this the authorities were satisfied for the time being and for a while there was little or no persecution. 

The situation changed rapidly however from 1570 onwards, mainly as a result of four events or series of events.

1) In 1569 there took place the Northern Rising, an attempt by the Catholic Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland to secure toleration for Catholics and liberty for Mary Queen of Scots, the Catholic cousin of Elizabeth, who had been held prisoner since her arrival in England the previous year and whom Catholics regarded as the rightful heir to the English throne. The rising was a disastrous failure, but it nevertheless indicated to the Government that Catholics were still a force to be reckoned with.

2) In 1570 Pope St Pius lent support to resistance against the Protestant regime by the bull Regnans in excelsis, in which he excommunicated Elizabeth as a heretic and released her subjects from allegiance to her. Naturally the effect of the bull was to increase anti-Catholic sentiment and encourage stricter enforcement of the new laws.

Saint Alexander Briant - a priest executed during the Elizabethan persecutions.
© 2013 Mary's Dowry Productions

3) In 1574 there arrived in England the first of the new missionary priests from the English seminary at Douai, founded by Dr William Allen (later Cardinal) six years preciously, and these were followed by the first Jesuits priests in 1580, St Edmund Campion and Fr Robert Persons. Before the end of the reign more English seminaries were founded on the Continent, Rome (1579), Valladolid (1589) and Seville (1592), and the newly ordained from these were returning home. The success of this fresh generation of foreign trained priests alarmed the Government and resulted in a statute of 1571 making reconciliation to the Catholic Church high treason. This was followed soon by the best known of all the penal laws, the infamous statue of 1585 'against Jesuits, seminary priests and such other like disobedient persons', which made it high treason for an Englishman ordained priest overseas to come into or remain in England and felony for anyone in England to receive or assist him. 'High Treason' comprised serious violations of allegiance to the monarch or State, what we ordinarily call treason today, distinguished from 'petty treason', which was later abolished; 'felony' was the next most serious category of crime in English law. Both high treason and felony were punished by death, the former by hanging, drawing (i.e. disembowelling) and quartering, the latter by hanging only.

Saint Edmund Campion arrives in England
© 2008 Mary's Dowry Productions

4) Finally there was the Spanish Armada in 1588, which for English Protestants took to be the ultimate proof that the Pope and Spain were in league with the Catholics of England and that the returning priests were the agents for a foreign power organising a fifth column in their country

Inevitably all these events - the Northern Uprising, the excommunication of Elizabeth, the influx of priest from the Continent and the Spanish Armada - caused the penal laws to be enforced more rigorously, and in the thirty or so years from the 1570's onward to the end of the Queen's reign, English Catholics underwent the longest period of sustained persecution in their history.

Of the 85 blessed Martyrs beatified in 1987, 68 suffered in these years, and from 1585 onwards nearly all of them were condemned under the statute of that year against Jesuits, seminary priests and their helpers.

(Text partly taken from 'The eight-five Blessed Martyrs of England, Wales and Scotland beatified by Pope John Paul II on 22 November 1987 - booklet)

We ask the intercession of the Martyrs upon England especially today.

For a variety of films about the Martyrs visit:

www.marysdowryproductions.org

Plague priests, Westminster missionaries, English Martyrs and Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England

SAINT JOHN SOUTHWORTH

PLAGUE PRIEST - WESTMINSTER MISSIONARY - 17TH CENTURY ENGLAND

Westminster’s Plague Priest: Saint John Southworth: 

 Any visitor to Westminster Cathedral in London today will almost always discover the

 glass coffin containing the body of English Martyr Saint John Southworth in the chapel of Saint George and the English Martyrs. Saint John Southworth was a Catholic priest in 17th century England and the only Martyr to be executed for the Catholic Faith and his Catholic priesthood during the rule of Oliver Cromwell. 

 Saint John came from a good Catholic family in Lancashire who chose to pay hefty fines to the government rather than give up the persecuted Catholic Faith. He was called to the sacred priesthood so travelled secretly abroad. Saint John Southworth was ordained a Catholic priest at the English College in Douai and entered England as an illegal Catholic missionary priest, determined to take the outlawed Sacraments and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to the persecuted English people. 

 The City of Westminster in London was the missionary ground chosen by Our Lord for his faithful friend and servant Father John Southworth to minister to the countless persecuted and suffering souls of 17th Century anti-Catholic England. Captured, arrested and banished, Saint John promptly returned back into the country and continued his zealous missionary work. He was arrested again and imprisoned with Saint Edmund Arrowsmith, a fellow missionary priest and martyr and was able to hear Saint Edmund’s confession and give him absolution from the window of his cell as Saint Edmund was led away to be executed for his Catholic priesthood. 

 Banished again, Saint John Southworth was swiftly back in England and continued his work, spending an incredible twenty-five years moving between secret lodgings in and around Westminster, sometimes living in the slums among the destitute. He especially worked with the plague-victims of London, ignoring the large red crosses placed over people’s houses by the masked plague-doctors and entering the homes of Catholics and Protestants alike. 

He was a fierce defender of the Catholic Faith and deeply pious, edifying everyone he met. When the King was executed and Saint John Southworth arrested yet again, he was this time sentenced to death for his Catholic priesthood under the rule of Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector. At the Tyburn gallows, Saint John Southworth delivered a magnificent speech and joyfully gave his life. 

His body is now venerated in a Shrine in Westminster Cathedral, London, in the area he had ministered for most of his life. Saint John Southworth was canonised one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales. Learn about the inspiring life and missions of Saint John Southworth in this film set during the dangerous Penal Times in England. Our unique film production style has been internationally praised for not only presenting information, details and facts but a prayerful and spiritual film experience. As seen on EWTN.

 Length and Format; Westminster’s Plague Priest: Saint John Southworth runs for 30 minutes and is available worldwide on Region Free DVD.

Saint John Southworth DVD

www.marysdowryproductions.co.uk

Litany of Intercession for the Conversion of England - Mary's Dowry, Mary's Dowry Productions

LITANY OF INTERCESSION 

FOR THE CONVERSION OF ENGLAND

Cell of St. Thomas More - Mary's Dowry Productions 2011 pilgrimage to the Tower of London

Mary's Dowry Productions was founded in honour of Our Lady of England, named for Our Lady's Dowry of England under the ancient Catholic title - Mary's Dowry. As well as producing films on the lives of the English Martyrs as a means of spreading knowledge of many unknown or little known heroic Catholics of our country, Mary's Dowry Productions seeks to promote the lives of early Saints of England and Great Britain too, as well as devotion to Our Lady, using film as a way to reach people in an easy to absorb, prayerful, informative and inspiring way.

Below is a litany that was prayed regularly in England for the Conversion of England, which includes invocation to many of the Saints and Martyrs of England.

Litany of intercession for the conversion of England

Remember not, O Lord, our Offences, nor those of our parents; neither take thou vengeance of our Sins.

Lord, have Mercy on us.

Christ, have Mercy on us.

Lord, have Mercy on us.

Jesus, receive our Prayers.

Lord Jesus, grant our Petitions.

O God the Father, Creator of the world, have mercy on England.

O God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on England.

O God the Holy Ghost, Protector of the world, have mercy on England.

O Sacred Trinity, three Persons and one God, have mercy on England.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, *pray for England (*repeat after each invocation)

Holy Mary, Queen of Angels, whose powerful Intercession destroys heresies,

Holy Mary, Virgin of Virgins, whose eminent sanctity our Lord hath honoured with so many miracles,

St. Michael, Prince of the Church,

St. Gabriel, glorious messenger of our Saviour’s Incarnation,

St. Raphael, faithful guide of those that have lost their way,

Holy Angel, to whose pious custody this province is committed,

All Holy Angels, and blessed Spirits of Heaven, who celebrate with joy the conversion of sinners,

St. John Baptist, Precursor of the Messiah, and great example of penance,

All ye holy Patriarchs and Prophets, Friends of God, and advancers of his Truth,

St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and Supreme Pastor of Christ’s sheep,

St. Paul, Doctor of the Gentiles, who of a persecutor became a preacher,

St. Andrew, first Disciple of Christ, and constant lover of the Cross,

All holy Apostles and Evangelists, chief planters of the Christian Faith, and zealous maintainers of Catholic unity,

St. George, our principal Patron, whose courage remained invincible in the midst of so many torments,

St. Alban, our first Martyr, who, for the generous charity of harbouring a priest, was put to death,

St. Thomas of Canterbury, who, as a faithful shepherd, lay down thy life in defence of thy flock,

All holy Martyrs of this Nation, who voluntarily lost your lives here, to find them again in a joyful eternity,

St. Gregory, most vigilant Bishop of the universal Church, whose pious zeal sent missionaries from Rome for the conversion of our ancestors,

St. Augustine, peculiar Apostle of this nation, by whom our forefathers were reclaimed from paganism and infidelity,

St. Bede, most venerable Confessor, by whose religious life, and learned writings, the Catholic Faith was eminently propagated among us,

All holy Bishops and Confessors, by whose wisdom and sanctity this Island was once a flourishing seminary of religion,

St. Helen, most holy queen, and happy mother of the first Christian Emperor,

St. Ursula, most blessed martyr, who died in the glorious defence of faith and chastity,

St. Winefred, most admirable virgin, even in this unbelieving generation still miraculous,

All holy saints of this nation, who, amidst the innumerable joys of heaven, still retain a particular charity for the conversion of your country,

All holy saints of all places, who, though divided here in several regions, were united in the same faith, and now enjoy one common felicity,

Be merciful, O Lord, and spare us.

Be merciful, O Lord, and hear us.

From the dangers most justly threatening our sins, deliver England, O Lord.

From the spirit of pride, rebellion, and apostasy, deliver England, O Lord.

From the spirit of hypocrisy, profaneness, and sacrilege, deliver England, O Lord.

From schism, heresy, and all blindness of heart, deliver England, O Lord.

From gluttony, drunkenness, and the false liberty of an undisciplined life, deliver England, O Lord.

We sinners beseech thee hear us.

That it will please thee to hasten the conversion of this, our miserable country, and re-unite them to the ancient faith and communion of thy Church, *we sinners beseech thee hear us (*repeat after each invocation)

That it would please thee particularly to have mercy on our kinsfolk, friends, and benefactors, and open their eyes to see the beauty of thy truth, and embrace it,

That it would please thee to incline the hearts of all the magistrates rightly to understand our religion, and impartially consider our sufferings; and how hardly soever they may deal with us, make us till with exact fidelity to perform our duties toward them,

That it would please thee to comfort and strengthen thy servants who suffer for the Catholic Faith, and not permit the weakest of us, by any temptation whatsoever, to fall away from thee and thy truth,

That it would please thee to assist with thy special grace those good priests who venture their lives for their flock, and daily augment in them the fire of thy love, and the zeal of gaining Souls,

That it would please thee to preserve the Catholics of this land from all sin and scandal, and to adorn our lives with solid piety, that our enemy, seeing our good works, may glorify thee our heavenly Father,

That it would please thee to grant us the grace of improving the restraints and temporal disadvantages we fall under, into an occasion of retiredness and Christian severity; supplying our want of public assemblies by a greater diligence in private devotions,

That it may please thee to govern us by thy good Spirit, that we may accept such ease and liberty, as thou vouchsafest to bestow on us, with gratitude, use it with modesty, and give others to understand by our behaviour, that nothing is pleasing to us, but so far as it tends to thy honour and our neighbour’s good,

That it would please thee to illuminate the hearts of all schismatics, who live out of the Church, seriously to apprehend the danger of their state, and the great importance of eternal salvation,

That it would please thee to look mercifully down from heaven on the tears of the afflicted, and the blood of so many martyrs, who have spent their lives and suffered death to convert us to thee, Son of God, we beseech thee to hear us.

O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.

O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, hear us, O Lord.

O Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

Lord have Mercy on us.

Christ, have Mercy on us.

Lord have Mercy on us.

Our Father...

O Lord, hear our prayers. 

And let our supplications come unto thee.

Let us Pray.

Almighty and everlasting God, whose judgements are righteous, and counsels unsearchable, who visit the iniquities of the parents upon the children, to the third and fourth generation, and yet at length remember mercy: forgive, we beseech thee, the sins of our forefathers, and turn away thy wrath from their posterity; deliver the ignorant from being seduced by false teachers, and the learned from being abused by their passions, and the whole nation from the spirit of contradiction, licentiousness, and discord; that instead of many divisions and changes in religion, under which they labour, they may again be restored to that unity of mind, steadiness of faith, and tranquillity of conscience, which is no where to be sought but in the communion of thy Church, nor possible to be found but by the conduct of thy grace.

O Eternal God, who in this great deluge of heresy, which wholly overflows, and almost covers the face of this Land, hast vouchsafed to select a small number for thyself, and save them in thy holy ark from the common inundation; we praise and glorify thy infinite Goodness, by which alone we enjoy the comfort of a firm and settled belief, free from the inconstancy of those, who, having no support but their own fancies, float up and down awhile, and sink at last into the gulf of infidelity; make us sensible, O Lord, of these thy unspeakable blessings, that as we know thee by a sure faith, we may love thee with a perfect charity; and fixing all our hopes on the joys of a future Life, patiently suffer what thou permit here, and still press on to what thou promise hereafter, through Jesus Christ our Lord, and only Saviour.

Amen.

Films by Mary's Dowry Productions on the lives of England's Saints and English Martyrs

available on DVD worldwide from:

www.marysdowryproductions.org 

and many more.

Available on DVD and Digital Download (Mary's Dowry Vimeo Channel)

www.marysdowryproductions.co.uk

Saint Wilfrid: Apostle of Sussex, Council of Whitby, Early Catholic Saint of England, film

SAINT WILFRID: THE APOSTLE OF SUSSEX

A Catholic film by Mary's Dowry Productions

Saint Wilfrid: Apostle of Sussex: 

 One of our great English 7th century Saints, Saint Wilfrid’s vocation began when he was a young boy. His stepmother was impatient with young Wilfrid and eventually sent him away to the Court of King Oswy where Queen Eanflaed took delight in the deeply pious and fervent boy and became his patron. 

Young Saint Wilfrid and his stepmother
© 2010 Mary's Dowry Productions

 The Queen sponsored Saint Wilfrid and sent him to study on Lindisfarne at the monastery founded by Saint Aidan where he learned the whole psalter off by heart and several books. He took a pilgrimage to Rome and brought back relics of the Saints upon his return. 

Saint Wilfrid and relics
© Mary's Dowry Productions

However, before he came back to England, his ship was thrown off course by a freak storm and driven to the coast of Sussex. Here, Saint Wilfrid encountered the South Saxons, a fierce, pagan people who would have warred with the pilgrimage party. Saint Wilfrid was so struck by their zeal and lack of knowledge of the Gospel that he kept the thought of them in his heart and prayers; Our Lord would lead him back some years later to make a lasting impression. 

Pagan South Saxons
© 2010 Mary's Dowry Productions

 Saint Wilfrid returned to Northumbria and was kept busy over the next several years. He was ordained a Catholic priest and then Bishop and participated in the great Council of Whitby which dealt with the disunity of the Catholic Church in England over a few observances. Because the Irish monks had converted part of Britain and observed a handful of different customs and traditions such as how to wear the tonsure and when to celebrate the Feast of Easter, a council was called to assist with the unification of the Catholic Church in England in these traditions with the Universal Church. Saint Wilfrid was instrumental in explaining the importance of complete unity with the whole Church and aligning the celebration of Easter with the rest of Christendom. He had the support of the great Abbess of Whitby, Saint Hilda and helped to bring about the growth of the Catholic Church when it was agreed to unify the dates with Rome.

Enemy of kings
© 2010 Mary's Dowry Productions

 Over time, Saint Wilfrid made enemies in the courts of the great Northumbrian kings – he was outspoken against man-made authority over spiritual matters as well as unwavering in the preaching of Catholic truths and important observances. Banished from Northumbria Saint Wilfrid journeyed to the South of England and undertook his mission as the Apostle of Sussex. He converted warring kings, baptised pagans, taught the South Saxons how to fish, worked miracles and was given the Isle of Wight as a gift.

Baptism
© 2010 Mary's Dowry Productions

A game of chess between a bishop and a king
© 2010 Mary's Dowry Productions

In the court of kings
© 2010 Mary's Dowry Productions

 After a long and fascinating life, Saint Wilfrid returned home to Northumbria and lived out the rest of his days in enclosure where he loved prayer, meditation and holy sacrifice. Learn about the inspiring life of this great Saint of England in a film that has been internationally praised for not only presenting information, details and facts but a prayerful and spiritual film experience. As seen on EWTN.

 Length and Format: Saint Wilfrid: Apostle of Sussex runs for 30 minutes and is available worldwide on Region Free DVD.

www.marysdowryproductions.org