The Saints

The High (Catholic) Priestess of Art, Sister Wendy (The Story of Painting) turns her attention to the lives of the saints (a "ragbag of characters") in this informative hour about history's famous men and women whose lives were given to God, including Sister Wendy's own "saint in the family" Thomas Beckett, brutally murdered in the cathedral at Canterbury. Viewers will learn that St. Christopher (one of the most popular saints) is a figment of the imagination, while St. Nicholas (who's evolved into the present Santa Claus) was a real saint. They'll hear the reported last words of St. Lawrence, who--while being roasted alive--is reported to have said to his tormentors "I think I'm done on this side; why not turn me over?" Sister Wendy also looks at the lives of Mary Magdalene (the "notorious call girl"), the Virgin Martyrs (including Agatha, whose breasts were cut off), Simonides ("seriously weird"), and St. Francis, who, on his deathbed, requested marzipan. As in Sister Wendy's Story of Painting (VL-11/97), Sister Wendy proves to be an erudite, opinionated, and a natural in front of the camera. Enthusiastically (I almost wrote "ecclesiastically," which is not the same thing, nor, for that matter, even a word) recommended. (R. Pitman)