‘The Saints’ by Martin Scorsese

Released on the Fox Nation channel and hosted and narrated by Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese, The Saints series traces the lives of eight historical figures beginning with St Joan, John the Baptist, St Sebastian and Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish priest who died at Auschwitz. 

The 81-year-old and former New York altar boy, whose Catholic background has permeated his films, said The Saints is the product of a lifelong fascination with Catholic icons which began in childhood.  

“I must have been about seven or eight years old. And I think it was in St Patrick’s Old Cathedral. And what was fascinating to me was certainly the statues of these people, the men and the women," Scorsese said.  

"And somehow the stories that these statues implied or suggested, whether it was a statue of Santa Lucia, with the eyes on the plate that she had, or Saint Roco with his finger pointing to his wound on his leg and a little dog at his feet. 

“So, these were things that we were living with, these saints. These statues almost became like people. And I wanted to know their stories.”

He has also revealed that while Christianity had been central to his life, at the same time doubts about faith were a natural part of the journey.

“You mention Christianity to many people today and they’re shocked,” said the legendary filmmaker. “They look at me and they say, you believe in that stuff?

He went on: “For me, faith is a question. It’s a question that I don’t think is ever answered on many levels. First, on the most basic level, what we believe in will never be verified, so to speak.

“I’ve come to understand that faith and doubt are inseparable. It’s the constant response to this incredible mystery that we’re living. The mystery of just being.”

Scorsese’s faith movies have been a significant part of his vocation including his 1988 adaption of Nikos Kazantzakis’s The Last Temptation of Christ which triggered massive, worldwide controversy, and Silence in 2016 about the persecution of Christians in Japan. 

“I think it started with people just telling stories of men and women who did extraordinary things with extraordinary people, who stood up to injustice and cruelty, and risked their lives to help other people,” Scorsese said.