The cause for sainthood for Holy Cross Brother Columba O’Neill is the result of years of research, interviews, and study by Holy Cross Brother Philip Smith, the archivist for the Midwest Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross and the USA coordinator of the cause for Brother Columba, CSC. Broth er Philip’s work regarding Brother Columba took him to a new venture – the recent production of a new documentary titled “In Kind Love: The Life and Legacy of Brother Columba O’Neill, CSC.” In April of last year, Bishop Rhoades officially opened the inquiry into the life and holiness of Brother Columba, telling a crowd at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame that “he was a great believer in the merciful love of Jesus and so had a deep and fervent devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and spread that devotion by his words and deeds.” Today’s Catholic reached out to Brother Philip recently and asked him about the film documenting Brother Columba’s legacy. Provided by the Midwest Province of the Congregation of Holy CrossHoly Cross Brother Philip Smith, the archivist for the Midwest Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross and the USA coordinator for the cause for Brother Columba O’Neill, poses in his office at the University of Notre Dame among a collection of photos and artifacts of Brother Columba’s life. Today’s Catholic: How did the project for a documentary come about? Brother Philip Smith: As the work of reading the Brother Columba letters and other documents progressed, I asked my superiors to consider having a video produced to record Columba’s life and ministry. I had seen a documentary on Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman that was produced by NewGroup Media and was very impressed with the depiction of her life. NewGroup Media is located in South Bend, so I contacted them and was introduced to Sister Judith Zielinski, OSF, who produced the Bowman piece. Eventually, an agreement was struck between NewGroup and the Congregation of Holy Cross to produce a documentary about Brother Columba. Today’s Catholic: What was your role in the production? Brother Philip: I am listed as the assistant producer. My role was to supply the videographers with whatever they needed to produce the most authentic account of Brother Columba’s life as a Holy Cross Brother and his ministry of prayer to the Sacred Heart as intercessor for people who asked his prayers for relief of their physical and spiritual distress. Today’s Catholic: You have years of research to share. How hard was it to compress all that data into a 45-minute documentary? Brother Philip: Thankfully, that was not my task. It is Sister Judy and her staff who had to take all that I provided and craft it into 45 minutes. They did an outstanding job. From the first minutes, one becomes absorbed into the life of ‘the Miracle Man of Notre Dame.’” Photos by Lisa KochanowskiBishop Rhoades addresses more than 150 priests, brothers, religious, and lay faithful gathered in McKenna Hall at the University of Notre Dame for a screening of “In Kind Love: The Life and Legacy of Brother Columba O’Neill, CSC” on Sunday, November 23. Today’s Catholic: What were some of the challenges you faced when making the film? Brother Philip: My challenges were all related to providing what they needed – letters, media items like newspaper articles, photos, etc. Because of the great number of items, I needed to find what would most accurately and efficiently work. Often, I had to rework what was asked for based on the script that was composed by Sister Judy. The script went through a number of revisions. Today’s Catholic: What are some memorable moments of the production process? Brother Philip: The depictions of various events in Columba’s life that required actors: Columba learning to read with his mother; the young Columba arriving at Notre Dame; the cures that were filmed. Some of the actors are members of the congregation: Brother Clay Jaskowski, Brother Joseph Fox, and Brother Thomas Rock. Today’s Catholic: What was it like working with a professional production company? Brother Philip: I learned so much about the time and talent needed to complete a quality [film on the] life of Brother Columba. There are scores of people who worked as a team to see the project to completion. I am thankful to one and all of them. The project required two years to complete. Today’s Catholic: What do you hope viewers take away from the documentary? Brother Philip: I want everyone to know about Brother Columba and his devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. My hope is that they will pray to Brother Columba to intercede for them to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for cures. Currently, there are many people throughout the world who pray to Columba for intercession. Many make a novena and pray five times a day, “Sacred Heart of Jesus, please cure my loved one of (whatever the need).” I want this documentary to increase devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and promote the canonization of Brother Columba. The post Documenting ‘the Miracle Man’ of Notre Dame appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less