In this month's round-up of faith & family news: a new film looks at walking the Camino de Santiago; the Christopher Awards honors outstanding movies and TV (and books); The Chosen star Jonathan Roumie signs with a prestigious agency.
Walking the Walk
On March 28, Santiago: The Camino Within hits theaters as a Fathom Event.
From Aleteia:
In the new documentary, Santiago: The Camino Within, Bishop Donald J. Hying of the Diocese of Madison poses just that question to many of his fellow pilgrims as he undertakes The Camino de Santiago, the Way of St. James.
For those not familiar with it, the Camino de Santiago is a collection of roads and trails scattered throughout Europe, all leading to the Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica where St. James is said to be buried. Since the 9th century when the tomb was first discovered, countless pilgrims have embarked upon a journey to walk to the site, a trek which can take over a month if begun from its farthest starting point.
The answers Bishop Hying receives to his question of “Why walk?” appear as numerous as the travelers making the pilgrimage.
Get tickets here.
The Christopher Awards
On March 22, Catholic organization the Christophers announced the 74th annual Christopher Awards, honoring writers, producers, directors, authors and illustrators whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit” and reflects the Christopher motto, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”
"The stories we're honoring acknowledge that the struggles we endure in life coexist with beauty and hope when we work together, despite our differences, to add love and healing to our world," said Tony Rossi, the Christophers' director of communications.
Included in the TV winners is A Waltons Thanksgiving, which aired last November on The CW (I covered it here). It's the network's second new film in the Waltons franchise, and the second to win a Christopher Award (the first was The Waltons' Homecoming, a Christmas-themed 2021 film).
There was a hint last fall that there might be a Waltons Easter film, but since the Thanksgiving outing didn't score as big in the ratings as the Christmas one, we'll have to see.
Other shows honored include AppleTV+'s Amber Brown, PBS' American Masters: Marian Anderson and Facing Suicide, and Paramount+'s 11 Minutes.
Feature films honored were The Best We've Got: The Carl Erskine Story, and Mother Teresa: No Greater Love.
Click here to learn about all the winners.
Jonathan Roumie Signs With UTA
The journey of Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie is a tale of faith rewarded. The 48-year-old actor spent many years working to build a career in Hollywood, only to find himself broke and desperate.
In a story he's told often, faced with bills but no money to pay them, he surrendered to Christ, willing to walk away from acting if that's what He wanted.
Roumie felt great peace -- and checks arrived later that same day, just enough to cover his needs.
Then came The Chosen. Originally equity-crowdfunded through Angel Studios, the Gospels-based scripted series, currently at work on its fourth of seven seasons, stars Roumie as Jesus.
In the years since, the success of that show has propelled Roumie from obscurity to being about the most famous actor in Christian media. He's given scores of interviews (including with me), met Bishop Barron, traveled to the Vatican to see the pope (more than once), and talked in front of thousands (such as at the March for Life).
Now, he's also the star of the successful Lionsgate/Kingdom Story Company feature film Jesus Revolution -- and Hollywood has finally taken notice.
As reported exclusively in Deadline.com, Roumie has signed with United Talent Agency (UTA), a global talent agency headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, which represents talent across film, music, sports and more.
On Twitter, Roumie said:
Roumie is a longtime friend of Family Theater Productions, and we couldn't be happier for him.
Image: “A Waltons Thanksgiving” Pictured (L - R): Logan Shroyer as John Boy Walton, Teddy Sears as John Walton, and Bellamy Young as Olivia Walton -- Photo: Tom Griscom / The CW -- © 2022 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Kate O’Hare, a longtime entertainment journalist, is Social Media Content Manager at Family Theater Productions.
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