July 4, 2009

Difilippis’ St. Maximilian Kolbe fills Catholic drama void

During February, Leonardo Difilippis will be appearing in Florida in a one-man show called “Maximilian: Saint of Auschwitz.”

Published: 02.08.08

Leonardo Defilippis has been an actor, producer and director of religious live theatrical productions, videos and films for 28 years. Since 1980, after years of performing in the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, San Diego’s Old Globe Theater and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Defilippis launched his own production company, Saint Luke Productions.

The company’s most well-known production, the feature film “Thérèse,” received wide acclaim, playing in mainstream theaters throughout the United States and Canada. He made his directorial debut with the film, which focused on the life of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and played the role of Thérèse’s father in the movie.

During February, he will be appearing in Florida in a one-man show called “Maximilian: Saint of Auschwitz,” about the life of St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Catholic priest in Poland who was known for evangelizing by using the mass media.

In 1941, Father Kolbe was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to the concentration camp at Auschwitz, where he was forced into slave labor, tortured and humiliated. While there, he spontaneously came forward and took the place of a married man condemned to death. Forty-one years after that heroic act, he was canonized by Pope John Paul II. The production runs for 90 minutes, and is suitable for ages 10 and older. Defilippis spoke recently with the Florida Catholic’s Carlos Briceno.

 

FC: Why is this particular saint important to today’s times?

LEONARDO DEFILIPPIS: He is very relevant because he’s a saint of our modern age, and he’s a saint particularly when he confronts good and evil, so to speak.

He lived through the communist regime and the Nazi regime, so he was constantly battling this kind of socialist and secular mindset, which still has its roots throughout a lot of modern society. He was a saint of the new evangelization.

FC. What got you involved in this type of evangelization?

LEONARDO DEFILIPPIS: I was very involved in the Shakespearean theater. I was a professional actor and my main focus at that time was classical theater. I had a conversion back to the Catholic faith as an actor in the midst of the normal chaos and the antireligious movement in the arts that are in Hollywood and … in normal theater. … It opened up a whole other genre for me and I saw there was a huge need for religious drama, which in the Catholic tradition we have such a void presently.

We really don’t have Catholic drama, in contrast to the (Catholic) press or music or visual arts.

FC: What do you hope a typical Catholic will get in terms of being inspired by seeing the play?

LEONARDO DEFILIPPIS: Knowledge and spirituality. The knowledge would be from our studies that most Catholics don’t know their history, heritage and legacy. In other words, they don’t know who the saints are. They hardly know anything about Scripture and they don’t know the saints. (In) a lot of places, our children are forgetting or not even knowing who St. Francis of Assisi is or St. Thérèse … the more famous saints. It’s a way of saying we do not want our heritage to be forgotten.

And we’re encountering a culture that we don’t spend time to learn this — the spiritual side. I’m hoping they will (leave the play) with a sense of meeting Christ in the saints, because that’s who the saints are anyway. They are called the living Gospels through our tradition.

So in a sense, they will encounter the incarnation of Christ in the flesh. As Christ said in his own words, “You will do greater things than I.” So in a sense, we’ll really encounter these beautiful people and the hardships they had to overcome and the courage.

So I’m hoping it will give a sense of hope, a sense of faith and the ultimate: that of charity, (of) love.

FC: How has this saint touched you spiritually? In other words, how have you changed as a result of doing this show?

LEONARDO DEFILIPPIS: They (saints) become your friends. You become more intimate with them, like a brother. I feel his mission. I feel his desires, what he prayed for.

Secondly, it’s brought me closer to the Blessed Mother. The show is very maternal. There is a maternal presence. If you are open, you feel her presence in the actual moment of the performance. He’s (St. Kolbe) also given me a sense of courage, of not being afraid to go right out there and to perform and talk.

FC: What’s next for you in terms of your projects?

LEONARDO DEFILIPPIS: We’re working on a play format on the life of the Curé of Ars, St. John Vianney, which would develop into a major motion picture as we did with our movie on St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

And we’re working on some television format programs that will be related to St. Augustine and to do things to expand the history of St. Maximilian (Kolbe) and some documentaries, and we’re working on workshops for youths.

 

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