Martin Scorsese illuminates history’s boldest saints in the Fox Nation series he ‘didn’t believe could be done’

A wrongfully accused girl burned at the stake; a man twice condemned to death by a merciless Roman emperor; an apostle beheaded at the whim of a vengeful queen; a Franciscan monk who sacrificed his life to save another in a Nazi death camp…

While the backgrounds, circumstances and contexts of their bravery are vastly different, these saints share one strong bond: their unyielding devotion and sacrifice that resonates through the ages.

Now the focus is on Fox Nation’s newest riveting docu-series, “The Saints,” — brought to the streaming service by none other than legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese — they stand as testaments of faith unbroken by persecution and brave undiminished by threat.

“A 14-year-old girl hears voices – the voices of the saints, the words of God. They tell her to dress in men’s clothes, organize an army, lead French soldiers into battle to put the King of Armagnac on the throne, which she does,” Scorsese, the “creative Godfather” of the series, said while reflecting on its first episode.

If the story of this 14-year-old cementing his role in history sounds familiar, that’s because it is.

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She is better known as Joan of Arc – a tenacious leader who believed she was chosen by divine forces to save France from ruin – but her downfall came when she became known as a menace and was wrongly accused of heresy and witchcraft of the Catholic clerical sympathy for the English cause.

“She becomes a political liability, she’s captured, she’s tried, she’s convicted, she’s burned at the stake, and at that point a dove floats out of the fire (as she takes her last breath)…” continued the famous filmmaker.

Scorsese tells Fox Nation viewers that Joan’s entire body burned to ashes except for her heart, which miraculously remained intact and filled with blood.

At least that’s the story according to witnesses.

For her, sainthood would take nearly 500 years and came in 1920, when she was canonized as the patron saint of soldiers by the very church that had condemned her to death.

MARTIN SCORSESE SAYS HIS NEW FOX NATION SERIES ‘THE SAINTS’ WAS A STORY HE ALWAYS WANTED TO TELL

The series “The Saints”. opens with Joan of Arc’s deeply original and inspiring tale – available to stream now on Fox Nation – which had its world premiere at the Whitby Hotel in New York City on Thursday. The exclusive screening featured a panel discussion hosted by Scorsese himself.

“I didn’t believe it could be done,” Scorsese told the live audience, explaining that the project had originally been conceived seven years ago — though he’s “always” wanted to do this.

“I grew up practically living in St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral downtown, contemplating, meditating on these statues of the saints, different saints, and wondering about their stories,” Scorsese explained. “What is a saint? Is it something superhuman? Can they achieve something easier than we can because we are human? I realized, ‘No,'” he added. “The point is they are human.”

Scorsese, who won the Academy Award for best director for his 2006 masterpiece “The Departed,” is no stranger to exploring the subject of faith with works like “Silence” and “The Last Temptation of Christ” — the latter of which he joked was ” forbidden by all.” The filmmaker said he was particularly compelled to do so bring history’s bravest saints to life because they each asked the question, “How can people live a life of compassion and love?”

Another saint who embodied such compassion and love was Polish friar Maxmilian Kolbe, whose episode was also shown at Whitby on Thursday.

His is a more modern tale that takes viewers back to 1940s Europe where, in the midst of World War II and the Holocaust, Kolbe makes the ultimate sacrifice in Auschwitz, volunteering to die in place of a stranger who had a family … and meet a brutal end.

Kolbe, who was considered by some to share anti-Semitic stereotypes at the height of the war, was “converted by humanity” when, as the film shows, he died next to a Jewish prisoner after suffering torturous conditions – a man who in his last time gesture, he called his “brother”.

The patron saint of prisoners – and journalists – would be canonized in 1982. The man whose life he saved was present.

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“I think (stories about the saints) started with people just telling stories about men and women who did extraordinary things and were extraordinary people, who stood up to injustice and cruelty and put their lives on the line to help other people,” Scorsese said.

The filmmaker told his live audience how important he feels it is to focus on these very saints for new generations who bring pieces of the past to the present and the future.

“Maybe the fact that there are saints, were saints and still are saints is something that has been lost on our newest generation. Because we don’t live with them. So we thought this was a good attempt to try to understand , what it is and what faith is, really.”

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Even now, years after their deaths, the legacy of the saints lives on – bridging the gap between humanity and something greater.

“I had the impression that many people try to find religion outside of religion… some people invest their energy in politics and justice. For many there is meditation and mindfulness… in general I know there is a fear of religion , for the intimacy of faith,” Scorsese continued, “So, I think the message is… we’ve seen radical loves and radical redemption and radical acceptance. I use the term ‘radical’ because these things are always revelatory.. . to do that (love others, etc.) you must bare yourself.”

“You have to risk failure and embarrassment and rejection… all of that at any given moment, but that’s what allows you to possibly see wider and deeper.”

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“Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints” will premiere in two parts, with the first four episodes releasing on Sunday, November 17, and the final set concluding in April and May 2025, spanning the holy season.

The eight episodes will explore the lives of Joan of Arc, John the Baptist, Sebastian, Maximilian Kolbe, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Becket, Mary Magdalene and Moses the Black, with Scorsese and his team traveling over 2,000 years of history to focus on these extraordinary figures and their extreme acts of kindness, selflessness and sacrifice.

To watch weekly episodes of “The Saints,” join Fox Nation and start streaming the series today. Fox Nation is offering a 3-month free trial with the promo code “SAINTS.”

Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.