A photo of a scene from “Christmas with The Chosen: The Messengers,” a Christmas special released in December 2021. / Credit: Courtesy of “The Chosen”
CNA Staff, Nov 1, 2023 / 15:06 pm (CNA).
On Nov. 1 the hit Christian series “The Chosen” released the trailer to its upcoming Christmas special, one that will be shown exclusively in theaters Dec. 12–17.
“Christmas with The Chosen: Holy Night” weaves “The Messengers,” a Christmas special depicting the story of Jesus’ birth, and “The Shepherd,” the pilot episode of “The Chosen,” into one remastered and re-scored story.
The new special tells the story of Jesus’ birth through the eyes of a young mother labeled impure and a shepherd boy considered “unclean.” It also includes a never-before-seen performance from Italian singers Andrea and Matteo Bocelli.
Other performers include Matt Maher, Brandon Lake, Zach Williams, One Voice Children’s Choir, Joy to the World, and the Bonner Family.
Tickets go on sale in the U.S. and Canada on Nov. 20.
Dallas Jenkins, creator, director, and co-writer of “The Chosen,” told CNA in an interview that the new special “turned out better than we expected.”
“We didn’t know it was going to work. We thought it might be clunky and then it turned out beautifully,” he said.
“Even though the crew was different and the setting is different and the sets are all different and we had different levels of resources to work with, the story itself blended together beautifully.”
“We also took six of the performances from the first two specials that were the most resonant with viewers, we put them into this,” Jenkins said. “And we also have an exclusive performance from Andrea Bocelli, of all people, who’s one of the most beautiful voices in the history of the world, who performed ‘O Holy Night’ in Italy for this Christmas special.”
Jenkins urged fans to see it in theaters as “it’s a really beautiful experience.” He said he hopes it will “tide people over until Season 4.”
Originally begun as a crowdfunded project, “The Chosen” is one of the most-watched shows in the world. It has reached more than 600 million combined episode views and has more than 10 million followers on social media.
It is also on its way to becoming the most-translated series in history, according to its creators; the first three seasons will soon be available in 50 languages with plans to subtitle in more than 600.
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Bethesda, Md., Apr 2, 2019 / 08:58 am (CNA).- When Fr. Matthew Schneider was asked to move on after just one year of a three-year assignment as school chaplain and youth ministry leader, he was shocked.
Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit. CNA file photo. / null
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 26, 2022 / 11:00 am (CNA).
The archbishop of Detroit is calling on Michigan Catholics to spend the first two weeks of Advent doing penance following … […]
Cardinal Gerhard Müller (center) and Father Joseph Hamilton (at left), personal secretary to the late Cardinal George Pell, were among the priests celebrating the Jan. 10, 2024, Mass held on the first anniversary of the cardinal’s death. / Credit: Elizabeth Alva
Rome Newsroom, Jan 10, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).
A requiem Mass was held in Rome on Tuesday evening to mark the first anniversary of the death of Cardinal George Pell and to celebrate the cardinal’s illustrious ecclesiastical career.
The chapel of the Domus Australia was filled to capacity for the Mass, which was celebrated by Cardinal Gerhard Müller. In attendance were numerous cardinals and bishops, an array of priests from Rome, ambassadors to the Holy See, and faithful from Rome and abroad who came to pray for the beloved cardinal.
The chapel of the Domus Australia was filled to capacity for the Jan. 10, 2024, Mass, which was celebrated by Cardinal Gerhard Müller. Credit: Elizabeth Alva
Father Joseph Hamilton, rector of the Domus Australia and Pell’s former secretary, noted in an exclusive interview with EWTN: “I think His Eminence was very loved here in the city of Rome. His witness was very much appreciated and his loss was very unexpected.”
“I think that a beautiful Mass to commemorate his life, to pray for the repose of his soul, and to ask for his intercession here in the chapel, which he renovated and which he loved, I’m hoping will bring consolation and some degree of closure for those who have been grieving for the cardinal over the last year,” Hamilton added in his interview.
Pell died at the age of 81 on Jan. 10, 2023, after suffering a cardiac arrest following a scheduled hip replacement days prior at Rome’s Salvator Mundi hospital. He previously served as archbishop of Sydney and Melbourne before Pope Francis appointed him to head the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy in 2014, making him the most senior Australian prelate.
Cardinal Raymond Burke was among those at the Mass on the first anniversary of Cardinal George Pell’s death Jan. 10, 2024. Credit: Elizabeth Alva
During his homily, Müller reflected on the long illustrious life of the departed cardinal, noting that Pell and Pope Benedict — who passed away less than two weeks before the cardinal — were “role models of the true faith.”
Müller reflected on his early life, noting that the cardinal showed great “athletic abilities” and “high intellectual talent,” which would have brought him “a brilliant career in the world.” But, Müller continued, Pell eschewed worldly goals and opted to “follow Christ’s call to the priestly service.”
Cardinal Gerhard Müller at the requiem Mass on Jan. 10, 2024, marking the first anniversary of Cardinal George Pell’s death. Credit: Elizabeth Alva
Pell was renowned for his quick wit and towering stature. Müller, reflecting on his personal relationship with the late cardinal, highlighted Pell’s commitment to “marriage and family in the spirit of Christ, teachings against relativization by secularist-minded participants in the Synod of this topic.”
Müller also touched upon the darkest chapter of Pell’s life, which stands as “a great testimony of Christian patience.”
Cardinal George Pell gives an interview to EWTN News in Rome, Italy, on Dec. 9, 2020. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.
Pell was convicted on Dec. 11, 2018, on five charges of sexual abuse while he served as archbishop of Melbourne in the late 1990s. After serving 404 days in solitary confinement, Australia’s high court unanimously overturned the convictions, based on reasonable doubt of the appellate proceedings, in April 2020.
“He was relentlessly pursued by a bloodthirsty mob and made himself a victim of justice by anti-Catholic agitators in the media and the police apparatus,” Müller remarked regarding the vilification of the late cardinal in mainstream media.
Auxiliary Bishop Richard Umbers of the Archdiocese of Sydney spoke with EWTN after the Mass, noting that the evening was an opportunity to mark “the anniversary of a man who was a lion in the Church. I think it’s giving due recognition to someone who’s been very important in the life of Australia, if not in fact the whole world.”
While recognizing that Pell was a “lightning rod for the Church,” Umbers explained that he was a man “of great strength and tremendous courage.”
Pell’s legacy is not just limited to his theological acumen or reforms of the Vatican’s handling of financial affairs, but it is most tangibly seen in the revitalization of the Church in Sydney.
“I think the impact of Cardinal Pell is very visible in Sydney,” Umbers said. “He was a big man with great vision, and the last 20 years in the Archdiocese of Sydney have seen real growth and leadership amongst a number of young Catholics.”
“You find an environment there which is quite extraordinary. A lot of life, especially in the area of university chaplaincy. He [Pell] invested heavily in that area and took great interest in the next generation of leaders,” Umbers added.
According to Father Hamilton, one of the hallmarks of Pell’s legacy will be his example of strength and unity for the Church as it is going through a period marked by division and is mired in crises.
“We are one Catholic Church, we have one faith, we have one pope, we’re one people. If we stand together, we’re strong. If we’re divided, we’re weak, and I think that his [Pell’s] witness to us and his legacy to the Church is that it is one, holy, catholic, apostolic Church that he was proud to serve and that he was proud, in a very humble way, to be a confessor of. I think that that leaves us an astonishing and shining example,” he said.
Bonner Family song alone is worth the ticket price.