The Committee of Welcome of the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral and the Grow Together Foundation invite the public to a special evening dedicated to faith, history, and the art of storytelling. On Wednesday, May 13, starting at 6:00 PM, attendees are invited to a free screening in the Basilica’s crypt, located at 263 Mulberry Street, in the SoHo neighborhood.
The evening will feature the screening of two episodes from the acclaimed docu-drama series Martin Scorsese Presents the Saints — one dedicated to Saint Longinus and one to Saint Mary Magdalene — bringing to life the stories of figures whose humanity and devotion have inspired generations of believers.
There is something deeply meaningful about this event taking place within these very walls. St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral is not just a monument for Martin Scorsese — it is home. It was here, among the statues and the silence of this church in the heart of downtown Manhattan, that a young Scorsese first began grappling with the deepest questions about faith and the meaning of being human. As he himself recalled:
“I grew up practically living in Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral, contemplating and meditating on those statues, those saints — different saints — and wondering what their stories were: What is a saint? Is it something superhuman? Can they achieve something more easily than we can, we who are human beings? And of course I realized that no. The point is that they are human, and that there are aspects of them we can take as good examples to follow or as sources of inspiration.”
It is in that same spirit — of inquiry, of wonder, of discovering the human within the sacred — that this series was born, and it is especially fitting that it returns to the place where those questions first took root.
Following the screenings, Kent Jones — the series’ screenwriter, a prominent filmmaker, and a longtime collaborator of Martin Scorsese — will take part in a conversation about the series, its guiding vision, and upcoming episodes. He will be joined by Stefano Albertini of New York University.
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
