Bonaventure friar consults on film

in FEATURES by

By Cameron Pettrone
Contributing Writer

 

St. Bonaventure presented the 2016 docudrama “The Sultan and the Saint” in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts Wednesday.
The film depicts Francis of Assisi striving for common ground with Malik al-Kamil, the Sultan of Egypt, during the Fifth Crusade in 1219, in which members of the Christian and Islam faiths engaged in an ideological and territorial conflict.
Risking his own life, Francis crossed enemy lines in order to preach the gospel and convert the Sultan and his Muslim army, who wished to reclaim the Holy Land through violent conflict, against the wishes of the pope and the rest of the Catholic Church.
After just barely making it to the sultan’s tent, the two engage in a spiritual dialogue which promotes mutual religious understanding. This peaceful message inspired compassionate acts between the opposing groups, such as the Muslim army giving bread to the starving and defeated Crusaders stranded in the flooded Nile River.
Not long after Francis’s message of peace was delivered, the Crusades ended.
Fr. Michael Calabria O.F.M, director of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies, served as a consultant on the film.
“The film explores what was happening in the larger context of the Crusades,” said Calabria.
According to him, the film was shown at St. Bonaventure because of the Franciscan heritage and because the film has a timeless message that is just as important now as it was 800 years ago.
“As the premier Franciscan university in the United States, it is important that we show the film here,” said Calabria. “It has enduring value.”
“We have this encounter that happened nearly 800 years ago and it still has the potential to inspire us and to change the way people interact with one another, despite cultural or religious differences.”
The film promotes the idea that religious discussion can lead to a peaceful and more unified world.
“Francis and the sultan were from different faith communities and different cultures and yet they could interact with one another positively simply by listening,” said Calabria. “That goes a long way, even in the contemporary world.”

 

pettrocj16@bonaventure.edu