Extraordinary Faith is pleased to announce the debut of a new, self-titled, 30-minute television series for the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) that showcases the beauty of classic Catholic sacred art, architecture, liturgy, and music. Special emphasis is given to the Traditional Latin Mass, also known as the Extraordinary Form or Tridentine Mass. This historic form of Catholic worship has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years, especially among the young, and is a rich source of vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
Extraordinary Faith is an independently-produced and funded effort to introduce the world of Sacred Tradition to Catholics and non-Catholics who have little or no experience of it. It combines a rich visual travelogue format with human interest stories taken from burgeoning traditional Catholic communities around the world. Each episode of Extraordinary Faith will visit a different locale, to tour historic churches and interview clergy and laypeople behind the restoration of classic Catholicism. The program avoids heavy theology and seeks to show how Catholic tradition is relevant to modern life.
Over two years in the making, Extraordinary Faith was co-founded by two veteran promoters of traditional liturgy: Executive Producer, Writer, and Host Alex Begin, a long-time organizer of Latin Masses in the Archdiocese of Detroit, Michigan and the Diocese of London, Ontario, Canada; and London, England-based journalist Mary O’Regan, who served as Writer, Producer, and Co-Host on the first two episodes.
To ensure that the message reverberates with contemporary audiences, the founders committed to the highest possible production standards. A team of experienced Los Angeles-based television professionals has been assembled to oversee the technical aspects of the production. Key personnel include veteran film and television producer James Brooke, Emmy-nominated cinematographer Jim Whitney, editor Andy Charlton, who worked on Hawaii Five-O and Pushing Daisies, and Edd Kalehoff, composer of the theme music for The Price Is Right and ABC World News Tonight. Volunteers from the St. Benedict Tridentine Community at Assumption Church in Windsor, Ontario, Canada (www.windsorlatinmass.org) are assisting with numerous background details on the project.
At 5:00 PM U.S. Eastern time on Monday, April 7, a web site supporting the program will go live at www.extraordinaryfaith.tv. A preview video for the series and for each episode will be posted there. A Facebook page will offer a discussion forum for subjects pertinent to the program and for those who have questions about Catholic tradition in general, at www.facebook.com/ExtraordinaryFaith.
The web site will include a list of resources for those interested in learning more about traditional liturgy. Each episode will have its own page, with links to provide more information about the people and places visited.
To further help promote Sacred Tradition, members of the Extraordinary Faith team will also offer on-site training for priests, servers, and musicians who wish to learn the Tridentine Mass. No fee will be charged for the instruction or travel costs involved, but parishes who take advantage of this service will be required to commit to offering the Extraordinary Form at least once per month. Details about this service will be posted on the web site.
Eight episodes have been shot thus far. Episode 1, filmed at California’s historic Mission San Juan Capistrano, will debut on EWTN on Monday, April 14, 2014 at 4:30 AM U.S. Eastern time. It will be repeated on Good Friday, April 18, at 2:00 AM U.S. Eastern time. Further re-runs are possible, according to the network. One month after each episode debuts on EWTN, it will be viewable on the Extraordinary Faith web site. Episode 1 will be posted on-line beginning on Wednesday, May 14.
For further information, please contact Executive Producer Alex Begin at (248) 952-8190 or e-mail: abegin@extraordinaryfaith.tv.
Having worked with the crew of EFTV on episodes about sacred music and the Latin Mass scene in Miami, I'm delighted to see the launch of this show on EWTN. I hope you'll be able to tune in to the broadcast, as well as view the episodes on their website after airing. Support from viewers will likely go a long way in securing a better time slot, as well as the production of more episodes.
