On the weekend of January 19-21, the core team of the film’s crew gathered at the Lord’s Sanctuary to enjoy two days of retreat, prayer, and long conversations and sharing about Javier Sartorius and the documentary project that is already underway.
After a prayer in the cemetery of the Sanctuary, where Javier’s body rests, guided by Father Joan, we did several sessions of more than two hours each, rereading letters of Javier, remembering many anecdotes (some really hilarious!) and defining how we want to approach his persona for this project.
“A St. Francis of Assisi of the 21st century,” reflected Mauri, Javier’s brother, as he tried to summarize his story in a short phrase. “Here at Lord, Xavier found a place that allowed him to be himself for the first time, to find an authenticity of who he was,” Father Joan recalled.
They were very nice and intense days. We all left with a great desire to continue working for this project.
We’ll tell you more soon!