Under the streets of Nolita, in the catacombs of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, more than one hundred guests gathered for an evening dedicated to cinema, dialogue and community. Organized by the Hospitality Committee of the parish in collaboration with the Grow Together Foundation, the event was part of a broader vision of evangelization through art.
The evening began in the rectory across the street, where guests found themselves among sandwiches and pizza offered by Parm and Lucia Pizza di SoHo. The conversations filled the space while parishioners, newcomers, students and young professionals gradually descended to the lower floor for the projection. Some had already participated in other events organized by the parish, while others had discovered the evening on Instagram through @catholic.film.archive, a page managed by a parishioner who shares updates on the series of cineforum.
Il ricevimento è stato sponsorizzato da Parm e Lucia Pizza.
At the center of the evening, the organizer Sara Morano explained, there was a simple idea: cinema can approach people through a shared experience of beauty, narrative and reflection. Not everyone meets faith first through theology or liturgy, but many are open to art, story and meaningful conversation. The projections want to create a welcoming space where people can meet both culture and Catholic tradition in a new way.
On Wednesday, May 13, guests saw two episodes of Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints. Narrated by Scorsese, the series combines cinematographic reconstructions of the lives of saints with filmed conversations with religious and cultural commentators, including Father James Martin, S.J.
After the screening, Kent Jones, the screenwriter of the series and the historical collaborator of Martin Scorsese, participated in a discussion with the public together with Stefano Albertini, director of the Italian House Zerilli-Marimò of NYU, and Father Daniel Ray, pastor of Old St. Patrick’s. The conversation concerned the way religious stories can be told through the language of contemporary cinema, also addressing issues related to realism, violence, artistic responsibility and fidelity to the lives of saints. More generally, the speakers reflected on the relationship between art and religion and the ability of cinema to communicate a theological meaning to the contemporary audience.
In the background of the evening was the work of the Grow Together Foundation, led by the founder and president Fr Luigi Portarulo, an Italian Catholic priest who spent most of his ministry at the service of the Vatican. In addition to supporting the projection, the foundation finances Italian language courses and cultural initiatives designed to strengthen the links between the Italian community of the parish and the wider Anglophone Catholic population. His most general mission is to foster dialogue, friendship and meetings based on the shared Catholic faith.
What emerged more clearly during the evening is that these meetings concern much more than cinema. Bringing cinema into dialogue with faith and community, the series creates a space where people can approach sacred themes through art, discussion and shared experience. In a city often marked by fragmentation and isolation, evenings like this offer a rare opportunity to meet authentic.
A present person then commented on the evening by writing: “The next discussion has really shed light on the world in which we live today and has challenged us to transcend ourselves to meet people where they are on their way to a life of love”.
L’articolo A cinema and community evening in St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral proviene da IlNewyorkese.
