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| famousfix.com |
In honor of the Feast of Saint Francis, here is The Reluctant Saint, about Franciscan Saint Joseph of Cupertino. Maximilian Schell played Giuseppe, a young peasant who was not dangerously bright. Giuseppe's mother persuaded her brother to take Giuseppe into a Franciscan monastery as a lay brother. He was happy taking care of the farm animals. A visiting bishop talked to Giuseppe and found that he had a loving heart and native wisdom. The bishop told the uncle to let Giuseppe study for the priesthood. Through a series of miracles, Giuseppe passed all the exams.
After this people saw that he had ecstatic experiences and sometimes levitated. A priest accused Giuseppe of consorting with the devil, but despite efforts at exorcism, the friars realized that his experiences came from heaven.
The movie is fun, but it works on the level of a children's story. I don't mind a children's story now and then.
