Martin Scorsese illuminates history's boldest saints in Fox Nation series he 'didn't believe could be done'

A wrongfully accused miss burned astatine the stake; a antheral doubly sentenced to decease by a merciless Roman emperor; an apostle beheaded astatine the whim of a vengeful queen; a Franciscan monk who sacrificed his beingness to prevention different astatine a Nazi decease camp…

While the backgrounds, circumstances and the discourse of their bravery wide vary, these saints stock 1 almighty bond: their unyielding devotion and sacrifice that echoes crossed the ages.

Now the absorption of Fox Nation's newest riveting docuseries, "The Saints," — brought to the streaming work by nary different than legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese — they basal arsenic testaments of religion unbroken by persecution and courageousness undiminished by threat.

"A 14-year-old miss hears voices – the voices of saints, the connection of God. They archer her to formal successful men's clothes, signifier an army, pb French soldiers into conflict to enactment the Armagnac king connected the throne, which she does," Scorsese, "creative Godfather" of the series, said portion reflecting connected its archetypal episode.

If the communicative of this 14-year-old who cemented her relation successful past astir apt sounds familiar, it's due to the fact that it is.

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Martin Scorsese held a sheet treatment with advisor Mary Karr, Father James Martin, writer Paul Elie and Father Edward Beck aft an exclusive screening of his caller FOX Nation caller bid "The Saints."

She's amended known arsenic Joan of Arc – a tenacious person who believed she was chosen by divine forces to prevention France from ruin — but her downfall came erstwhile she became known arsenic a menace and was wrongfully accused of heresy and witchcraft by the Catholic clergy sympathetic to the English cause. 

"She becomes a governmental liability, she's captured, she's tried, she's condemned, she's burned astatine the involvement and, astatine that point, a dove soars retired of the occurrence [as she draws her past breath]…" the famed filmmaker continued. 

Scorsese tells Fox Nation viewers that Joan's full assemblage burned to ash but for her heart, which miraculously remained intact and afloat of blood.

At least, that's the communicative according to witnesses.

For her, sainthood would instrumentality astir 500 years, coming successful 1920 erstwhile she was canonized arsenic the patron saint of soldiers by the precise religion that had condemned her to death.

MARTIN SCORSESE SAYS HIS NEW FOX NATION SERIES 'THE SAINTS' WAS A STORY HE ALWAYS WANTED TO TELL

"The Saints" series opens with Joan of Arc's profoundly primal and inspiring communicative — disposable for streaming present connected Fox Nation — which had its planetary premiere astatine the Whitby Hotel successful New York City connected Thursday. The exclusive screening featured a sheet treatment hosted by Scorsese himself.

"I didn't judge it could beryllium done," Scorsese told the unrecorded audience, explaining that the task had initially been conceived of 7 years agone — though he's "always" wanted to marque this.

"I grew up practically surviving successful the St. Patrick's Old Cathedral downtown, contemplating, meditating those statues of the saints, antithetic saints, and wondering astir their stories," Scorsese explained. "What is simply a saint? Is it thing superhuman? Can they execute thing easier than we tin due to the fact that we’re quality beings? I realized, ‘No,’" helium added. "The constituent is they’re human."

Scorsese, who won the Academy Award for Best Director for his 2006 masterpiece, "The Departed," is nary alien to having explored the taxable of religion with specified works arsenic "Silence" and "The Last Temptation of Christ" — the second of which helium joked was "banned by everyone." The filmmaker said helium was particularly compelled to bring history's boldest saints to life due to the fact that they each begged the question: "How tin radical unrecorded a beingness of compassion and love?"

Executive Producer Martin Scorsese is the "creative Godfather" of this docudrama bid exploring 8 of the astir celebrated saints successful history. (Laura Carrione / FOX)

Another saint who embodied specified compassion and emotion was Polish friar Maxmilian Kolbe, whose occurrence was besides screened astatine the Whitby connected Thursday.

His is simply a much modern communicative that takes viewers backmost to 1940s Europe, where, successful the midst of the Second World War and the Holocaust, Kolbe makes the eventual sacrifice astatine Auschwitz, volunteering to dice successful spot of a alien who had a family… and gathering a brutal end.

Kolbe, who was believed by immoderate to stock antisemitic stereotypes astatine the tallness of the war, was "converted by humanity" when, arsenic the movie shows, helium died adjacent to a Jewish captive aft suffering torturous conditions — a antheral whom, successful his last gesture, helium called his "brother."

The patron saint of prisoners — and journalists — would beryllium canonized successful 1982. The antheral whose beingness helium saved was successful attendance.

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Martin Scorsese speaks during his Masterclass astatine Cinema Massimo connected October 8, 2024, successful Turin, Italy. (Stefano Guidi/Getty Images)

"I deliberation [stories of the saints] started with radical conscionable telling stories of men and women who did bonzer things and were bonzer people, who stood up to injustice and cruelty and risked their lives to assistance different people," Scorsese said.

The filmmaker told his unrecorded audience however important helium feels it is to spotlight these precise saints for caller generations to come, bringing pieces of the past to the contiguous and the future.

"Maybe the information that determination are saints, were saints and inactive are saints is thing that’s mislaid connected our newest generation. Because we don’t unrecorded with them. So, we thought this was a bully effort to effort and recognize what that is and what religion is, really."

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Christianity, and religion successful general, are the way to love, redemption and acceptance, Scorsese said. (Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Even now, years aft their deaths, the saints' legacies unrecorded connected — bridging the spread betwixt humanity and thing bigger.

"I had the content that galore radical are trying to find religion extracurricular of religion… immoderate radical put their vigor successful authorities and justice. For many, there's meditation and mindfulness… successful general, I cognize there's a fearfulness of religion, of the intimacy of belief," Scorsese continued, "So, I deliberation the connection is… we've seen extremist loves and extremist redemption and extremist acceptance. I usage the word ‘radical’ due to the fact that these things are ever revelatory… to bash that [love others, etc.] you person to exposure yourself."

"You person to hazard failure, and embarrassment and rejection… each of this astatine immoderate fixed moment, but that's what gives you a mode of perchance seeing much wide and deeply."

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"Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints" volition premiere successful 2 parts, with the archetypal 4 episodes acceptable to merchandise connected Sunday, November 17, and the last acceptable to reason successful April and May 2025, spanning the Holy season.

The 8 episodes volition research the lives of Joan of Arc, John the Baptist, Sebastian, Maximilian Kolbe, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Becket, Mary Magdalene and Moses the Black, with Scorsese and his squad journeying implicit 2,000 years of past to absorption connected these bonzer figures and their utmost acts of kindness, selflessness, and sacrifice.

To ticker play installments of "The Saints," sign up for Fox Nation and statesman streaming the bid today. Fox Nation is offering a 3-month escaped proceedings with the promo codification "SAINTS." 

Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.