We are thrilled to partner with our friends at EWTN to bring to our Women of Grace community behind the scenes information about their new original docudrama, “Joan of Arc: Maid for God.”
St. Joan of Arc was raised up during a time of great turmoil and upheavel in her own country. We can look to her example in the midst of the trials and stuggles that we are experiencing in this our day in time.
Below is the press release from EWTN on the upcoming series as well as a preview video and links for more information. We hope you will join us in enjoying this inspiring presentation. So get your Women of Grace study group and your girl friends together and let the life and witness of St. Joan of Arc inspire you to be the woman God intends for you to be “for such a time as this.”
Here’s the trailer…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 20, 2013
Don’t Miss This EWTN Exclusive:
‘Joan of Arc: Maid for God’
Irondale, AL – Recent movies have depicted St. Joan of Arc as her enemies once branded her – as a heretic and a witch. But in a new EWTN Original Docudrama, “Joan of Arc: Maid for God,” EWTN Producer Daniel Rabourdin says St. Joan is a woman for our times. (In the U.S., ‘Joan of Arc’ airs 6 a.m. ET and 6 p.m. ET, Thursday, May 30, her feast day in the Catholic Church.)
“The life of Joan is such a lesson in the social teachings of the Church,” says Rabourdin, who also wrote and directed the piece, which was filmed on location in France. “As the patron saint of militants and people ridiculed for their faith, she is a saint for these times of Catholics being active politically. It’s not unchristian to be firm and to stand up – until martyrdom.” (See the trailer here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Many people know that Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, but they probably don’t know why. “We love her, but we know almost nothing about her,” said Rabourdin, who spent four years bringing this piece to life.
Joan of Arc fought for a free France against the English, who were invading her country. It was the English King at the time who called Joan a witch and a heretic. Why?
“To be a King at that time was a Christian happening,” Rabourdin explains. “Since Joan was the major actor in the making of the French King, if he could brand her as a heretic and a witch, then he could say that the French King could not be legitimate.”
But wasn’t Joan burned at the stake by a bishop of the Catholic Church? “Yes,” says Rabourdin. “He had been nominated a year earlier as bishop by the occupying force – the English, who were taking over France at the time, and was promised a promotion. He would not even allow Joan to appeal her case to the Pope. Joan was only 17-years-old at the time, but she refused to deny the Divine origin of her mission even though the Bishop repeatedly told her, ‘Do you know you could be burned at the stake?’”
Many young people in America and the world are taking Joan of Arc as their model. Rabourdin’s job was made easier when professional actors in that country, out of love for this saint, volunteered to be in the film. He also mentions that he was inspired by the fact that more than 1 million of the French people recently took to the streets to protest the legalization of gay marriage. “They are the same as pro-lifers here,” Rabourdin said, “and Joan is a perfect role model for them.”
“Joan of Arc: Maid for God” will be aired worldwide as well as online, (http://www.ewtn.com/
EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 32nd year, is available in over 225 million television households in more than 140 countries and territories. With its direct broadcast satellite television and radio services, AM & FM radio networks, worldwide short-wave radio station, Internet website www.ewtn.com, electronic and print news services, and publishing arm, EWTN is the largest religious media network in the world.
