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It has been said by great theologians — in one way or another — that to truly know yourself, you must first learn to know God.
The great Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel said, “There is no self-understanding without God-understanding.”
God made us. He knows how everything fits together. And more importantly, He holds the key to our purpose in life. That is the underlying current of a new feature-length movie about three young seminarians, the closest of friends, as they set out on what the film says is “an extraordinary odyssey to answer the highest of calls.”
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In “Trinity’s Triumph,” two of the seminarians are composite characters — young men who represent the variations of personalities in seminary. But one is not.
Father Joe is the avatar of Father Stephen Fichter, pastor of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish in Wyckoff, New Jersey.
The film “Trinity’s Triumph” could be the first movie about priests actually written by a priest. (iStock)
He developed the story and wrote the screenplay based on his journey to his ordination.
The film could be the first movie about priests actually written by a priest.
Says Fichter, “I felt very strongly in my own vocation to the priesthood that God was calling more young people to serve him.”
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He said he wanted to “make a movie that would be attractive to the modern generation.”
“He said, ‘I see what you’re trying to do. I think it’s wonderful.’”
Film is certainly a good way to attract a younger generation, evidenced by the media attention given to the Catholic conversion of actor Shia LaBeouf.
But Fichter’s film was a 25-year journey that started while he was studying in Rome. He talked about the sojourn on a recent episode of “Lighthouse Faith” podcast.
Instead of one seminarian’s journey, Zeffirelli thought the film would make a better movie if told the story of three young men. (iStock)
“The original title was ‘Daring to Be Different,’ and it was the story of this one young man, and his journey … trying to respond to the call, trying to be generous to God and the sacrifice they had to make along the way.”
Along the journey, Fichter got some remarkable help. While in the eternal city, a friend of his was able to get the amateur screenplay in front of award-winning Italian director Franco Zeffirelli.
Fichter says, “I thought, you know, why not give it a try? Well, he loved it!”
Zeffirelli, said Fichter, “really thought I had a great idea. And he invited me to his villa on the outskirts of Rome, and we were there. It was a Sunday afternoon. And he was just absolutely delightful. He said, ‘I see what you’re trying to do. I think it’s wonderful.’”
Italian director Franco Zeffirelli is shown in 1970. He mentored Fichter and helped him shape his film “Trinity’s Triumph.” (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content)
Zeffirelli — who died in 2019 at age 96 — mentored Fichter and suggested a major change to the story.
Instead of one seminarian’s journey, he thought it would make a better movie if were about about three young men.
The next big-name contribution came while Fichter was serving as pastor of Sacred Heart parish in Haworth, New Jersey. A parishioner who wrote books asked him about a Scripture she was looking for to add to a story (this was before online search engines became the norm). He happily helped her.
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Turns out the parishioner was the bestselling author Mary Higgins Clark, the highest paid woman novelist.
Before her death in 2020, she wrote 51 books, each one a bestseller.
Said Fichter, “When I first met her, I had no idea who she was. She was at daily Mass during Lent … She was just another parishioner in the pews.”
Fichter was able to cross that hurdle of “Is this good enough?” and then had to deal with the difficulty of getting it produced.
Higgins Clark also helped shape the screenplay and gave it little more personality.
She and others also advised those working on it not to avoid the elephant in the room, which was the sexual abuse crisis burgeoning in Boston and what we now know as a worldwide issue.
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But Fichter was able to cross that hurdle of “Is this good enough?” and then had to deal with the difficulty of getting it produced.
He told “Lighthouse Faith,” “Once I felt like I had that affirmation and that approval and that support and encouragement from, you know, two really amazing storytellers in our world, I decided, How can I get this made?”
Hollywood is a strange animal. To get a good actor to play your lead, the potential artist usually wants to know who the director is. To get a good director, he or she wants to know who your lead actor is. To get financing, people want to know who the actor and director are.
As difficult as it was for Fichter to get his film made, he had friends who were willing to invest. (Joshua Comins/Fox News)
This merry-go-round can be endless.
Luckily, Fichter had friends who were willing to invest. It was low budget, just half a million dollars — hardly the catering bill for a blockbuster film.
Then, through more connections, he was able to snag A-list actor Joe Morton (“Speed,” “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”) to play the lead character, Monsignor Heck, around whom the entire movie pretty much revolves.
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Heck is the veteran seminary professor who challenges each of his students to go beyond knowing about God and take the plunge to actually knowing God.
He challenges the seminarians in the exact area where they’re blind to their own weaknesses. One seminarian’s superior intellect and theological knowledge put him far above his other classmates. But his failings came as he ignored the longings of his heart, believing that knowledge about God would be a talisman against temptation. It was not.
It is Heck who must deal with the fallout of an abusive priest.
It is Heck who must deal with the fallout of an abusive priest.
It is Heck who must debate a young priest struggling to understand why the Catholic Church doesn’t allow them to marry and have children as in the Eastern rite or Orthodox churches permit.
“What we’re trying to show in the movie is the human side to the priesthood,” said Father Stephen Fichter of New Jersey. (iStock)
It is Heck who, in the end, makes the audience feel honor and respect toward the priesthood; something that Hollywood hasn’t done since the days when Bing Crosby played Father O’Malley in 1945’s “The Bells of St. Mary.”
Says Fichter, “What we’re trying to show in the movie is the human side to the priesthood. Yes, it’s a calling from God. And it’s something that the church discerns as a community and then the individual discerns … and we try to show those sacrifices of not having a wife and a family and, you know, some of that loneliness that sets in.”
Each found that God’s grace, truth and mercy would always be their strength.
To know God is experiential. Sometimes it’s the weeping in the night, the falling to the knees from the weight of life’s struggles.
It is coming to the end of your human strength and only then knowing the only real thing you have in this life is the God who created you.
A priest is taught this. A good priest knows it and lives it out daily.
At the end of “Trinity’s Triumph,” each seminarian is on a different path. One drops out before being ordained. One leaves after taking his vows. And only one, Father Joe (Fichter), is a priest.
But all triumphed, though, because in their pursuit of this “highest of callings,” each found that God’s grace, truth and mercy would always be their strength.
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A Pennsylvania school bus driver is accused of driving 54 elementary school children while over four times the legal alcohol limit, authorities said, after reports she was swerving through traffic and nearly hitting vehicles before the bus ended up in a snowbank.
On Tuesday, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Douglass Township Police Chief Robert B. Evans announced an arrest warrant for Kelly Weber, 46, of Boyertown.
Weber is charged with driving under the influence, 54 counts each of endangering the welfare of children and reckless endangerment and related summary offenses.
Authorities said police were alerted around 4 p.m. Feb. 6 that a school bus was driving erratically and narrowly missing other vehicles.
A Pennsylvania school bus driver is accused of driving 54 children with a .331% BAC before stopping in a snowbank. She faces DUI and 54 child endangerment counts. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)
A responding officer later found the bus stopped in a snowbank.
Investigators said officers found an open 750ml bottle of Tito’s vodka, two empty 50ml bottles and a receipt showing the alcohol was purchased earlier that morning.
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A Pennsylvania school bus driver is accused of driving 54 children with a .331% BAC before stopping in a snowbank. She faces DUI and 54 child endangerment counts. (iStock)
According to authorities, a blood test showed Weber’s blood alcohol concentration was .331%, more than four times the legal limit of .08%, and detected Delta-9 Carboxy THC.
Investigators said 54 children were on the bus, including five younger than 6. Several children called or texted their parents during the ride because they were frightened by the driving, and one child exited at an earlier stop and was picked up by his parents, authorities said.
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A Pennsylvania school bus driver is accused of driving 54 children with a .331% BAC before stopping in a snowbank. She faces DUI and 54 child endangerment counts. (iStock, File)
“More than 50 young children were in a dangerous situation created by this defendant, who chose to consume a significant amount of alcohol and then get behind the wheel of a school bus and drive miles while intoxicated,” Steele said. “We are all thankful that this defendant didn’t crash the bus and cause further harm to these children.”
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Weber checked herself into a rehabilitation facility after the incident, authorities said. She is expected to turn herself in for arraignment, at which time bail will be set.
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Boston Marathon
In our “Why I’m Running” series, Boston Marathon athletes share what’s inspiring them to make the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston. Looking for more race day content? Sign up for Boston.com’s pop-up Boston Marathon newsletter.
Name: Brianna Poehler
City/State: Granby, Mass.
I am running the 2026 Boston Marathon with Miles for Miracles in support of Boston Children’s Hospital. The Boston Marathon is deeply personal to me and my family.
My daughter is a liver transplant survivor, and at just 11 months old, she received a life-saving liver transplant at Boston Children’s Hospital.
What could have been the most devastating chapter of our lives became a story of hope, resilience, and extraordinary care because of the BCH team.
When our daughter was so small and so sick, the doctors, nurses, and staff at Boston Children’s carried us through the unimaginable.
They combined world-class medical expertise with compassion that went far beyond treatment plans and hospital rooms. They cared for our daughter as if she were their own. They supported us as anxious, exhausted parents. They gave us answers when we had questions, and reassurance when we were overwhelmed.
Most importantly, they gave our daughter a second chance at life.
Today, she is thriving because of that gift. Every milestone she reaches is a reminder of the miracle she received and the team that made it possible. Running the Boston Marathon is my way of honoring that gift and saying thank you in the most meaningful way I can.
The marathon is a test of endurance, determination, and heart — qualities I saw in my daughter during her fight and in the Boston Children’s team every single day.
With every mile I run, I will be thinking of her strength, her transplant journey, and the families who are walking similar paths right now.
By running with Miles for Miracles, I hope to raise funds that will support groundbreaking research, life-saving treatments, and compassionate care for children like my daughter. This race is more than 26.2 miles — it is a celebration of survival, gratitude, and hope.
Editor’s note: This entry may have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.
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Along with the best football prospects the season has to offer, the NFL Draft promises to bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to Pittsburgh from April 23 to 25.
If the turnout approaches that of Detroit in 2023, those descending on the North Shore and Downtown could reach 700,000 over the three days. For reference, that’s more than 10 times Acrisure Stadium’s 68,400 seats, and more than double the city’s roughly 308,000 residents.
Where will they stay? How will they get around?
Event planners at VisitPittsburgh say the city is up to the task.
“They picked us out of several cities because we have the infrastructure,” said Perry Ivery, general manager of the Oaklander Hotel and board chair of VisitPittsburgh.
Last year, Wisconsin’s Green Bay comfortably accommodated a unique visitor count three times its 106,000 population, according to residents and local leaders.
Ivery said there are some 26,000 hotel rooms across the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, the bulk of which are concentrated in and around Downtown.
Even if each room holds two to four people, the total still appears to fall short. But Ivery said many attendees will be locals, whether from Pittsburgh, surrounding counties or neighboring states within a day’s drive.
Plus, a high proportion of out-of-town guests could have Pittsburgh roots and a free bed to claim in a family home, he added.
There are also around 3,500 units available for short-term rental in and around Pittsburgh through platforms like Airbnb and VRBO.
“We’re all working together to make sure everybody has a great hospitality experience in the City of Pittsburgh,” Ivery said.
Infrastructure from roads to parking, and bus and light rail routes, will also feel the strain.
Pittsburgh Regional Transit normally services around 100,000 riders on an average weekday, across its entire network. Spokesperson Adam Brandolph said the agency is prepared for the transit demands of what’s expected to be the biggest event the city has hosted.
“We’re confident that we’ll be able to meet the needs of visitors to the draft as well as daily riders,” he said, noting “no major closures or detours” are planned for the event other than the University Line project, which may see less construction during that week.
Brandolph said the agency is finalizing plans and intends to make more information public soon.
A spokesperson for VisitPittsburgh said a local committee is working with a range of stakeholders including transportation agencies, engineering partners and local government “to deliver a coordinated and comprehensive plan for the region.”
“This includes collaboration with public transit agencies on adjusted service plans, clearly marked detour routes, designated rideshare zones and proactive communication with residents, businesses and commuters,” said Alex Kenzakoski, communications director for VisitPittsburgh.
“Our shared goal is to minimize disruption, keep the region moving and make travel as predictable and seamless as possible for both fans and locals.”
Kenzakoski said details on road closures, transit adjustments and travel guidance will be made known ahead of the draft, and encouraged fans to download the NFL OnePass app for transportation information and updates.
Ivery said a successful draft week execution could line Pittsburgh up for future hosting prospects.
“There’re going to be folks that come in that have never been to Pittsburgh … This is a case to showcase our town, and our hotels,” he said.
“We’re friendly, we have grit, we’re very excited to showcase that we can do large-scale activities.”
This story first appeared in Pittsburgh’s Public Source. Read the original here.
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