The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D C, the most striking, beautiful place of worship you will find in the United States. I attended the Basilica Eucharistic Prayer Vigil on October 13, 2003.

Among other things, it was the ideal place to not only view the ten-minute extended preview of Mel Gibson’s upcoming film, “The Passion,” but to also listen to the star, Jim Caviezel, give a closing talk to the all-day prayer vigil.

Early in the morning, to start the day off, they offered the first viewing of the extended preview, held downstairs at the Basilica. There was a decent crowd, not a chair available, with people desperately trying to position themselves around the pillars so they could at least get a glimpse of the medium-sized screen.

A speaker stood in front of the screen and announced that Caviezel, though scheduled to speak at 10:45am, would not speak until 5pm. The groans and murmurs eminating from the crowd showed that many people were looking forward to seeing him at the earlier hour.

At last, the lights dimmed and the film started. It actually started, not with “The Passion,” but with a video montage of clips from films starring Mel Gibson. That was followed by a video of Gibson in the editing room, who gave a little introduction to what was to come. Then, the Icon Productions logo flickered across the screen. I swear, you could hear people in the audience stop breathing...everyone seemed to tense up, preparing themselves as it were (for those of you that have seen the four-minute preview already out there, you should understand why). The black screen seemed to last forever, everyone silent, waiting. When it finally began, people started to breathe again...only to hold it again five seconds later. Ten minutes, ten minutes of feeling pain, Christ’s pain. You FEEL the whip, you FEEL the nail...you can even smell the blood. It is THAT real. At the end, and the lights went up, there was silence (and not many dry eyes). It AWED us. After that, we all just kind of wandered off, still awed.

There were many hours to wait for Jim, so I wandered through the Basilica. Went into the crypt church and the many side chapels, looking at the many different depictions of Christ, all beautiful and none anything like what we had just seen on screen.

5:00pm, the upper level of the Basilica. The master of ceremonies has come out yet again to announce that Jim Caviezel will be here shortly. His plane had touched down (from Canada) at 4:17pm and he had a police escort bringing him to the Basilica from the airport. 5:15pm, just after the Benediction, out comes the master of ceremonies who announced, “Jim is in the house.”

A few minutes later, he introduced Jim. Instantly, it struck me, as it probably struck others, ‘That guy is wearing a hat...in church!’ Well, Jim apologized about that first off. It seems that in the film he is currently working on, he has to have a shaved head. (When he met the Pope, the Pope put his hand on Jim’s head...and Jim assumed that the Pope thought he was a chemotherapy patient.)

Jim followed that with a humorous story concerning his meeting with the Pope. Seems the Pope (of whom Jim does a great impression) asked what Jim thought about playing Christ. Jim said, he now thinks Christ was Italian. The Pope asked why. Jim’s reply was: “First, he did not leave home until he was thirty, second, he hung around with the same twelve guys and last, his mother thought he was God.” The Pope replied, “I always thought Christ was Polish.”

These ‘lighter’ stories began Jim’s talk, but by the end of it, we were (again), all awed.

I really don’t know what I expected from Mr. Caviezel, I did not have any expectations. What I saw, what I heard, was beyond what I could have envisioned.

He told the story of his belief, when he was a struggling actor in ’97 and had a chance for a role which EVERYONE in Hollywood wanted. A role in the Academy Award nominated film, “The Thin Red Line.” Jim had an interview with the director, at the director’s house.

Jim told his wife before he went, that if he did not get this part, they were moving back to Washington state. If he did not get this role, that was it, obviously he was not destined to be an actor...it was not meant to be his vocation.

So he drives up to the director’s house, and stops his car out front. His interview is at 6pm. It is 6pm and yet he does not move. Doubt and many worries are plaguing him. Why should he even try out for this part? Then, he pulls out his wife’s grandmother’s rosary—a family heirloom—and starts to say the rosary. It is 6:05pm, he is not done praying yet, he is still sitting in the car, outside the director’s house...he decides to continue with his prayer. He finishes at 6:10pm, gets out of the car and goes up to the front door. Jim then realizes, he is still holding the rosary. He runs back to the car and goes to put the rosary away...but he then decides not to.

He goes back to the front door and rings the doorbell. A maid answers, he says he has an interview, so she lets him in. Jim notices the maid is wearing a holy medal, he asks, “You’re Catholic right?” The maid answers, “No, Episcopalian.” For some reason, he is overcome by some strange desire. He pulls the rosary from his pocket. He hands her the rosary. The maid, who is starting to cry, asks, “Why are you giving me this?” Jim said he did not know. She replies, “I just lost my precious rosary and have been praying for another, now you give me one.” At that moment the director walks in, asks her, “Honey, why are you crying.”

Turns out she was not the maid...and Jim got the part.

Second part to his story of faith. Jim is in Ireland filming “The Count of Monte Cristo.” The filming is going very badly. There are many problems, Jim is loosing weight, feels terrible and is ready to walk off the set.

At the time, his wife was having a wonderful time in Medjugorje, a place where there have been sightings of the Virgin Mary. She was telling him about it on the phone one night and happens to mention an expert on Medjugorje, who was to give a talk on the subject the following week in Ireland. Jim was not really interested, but even if he was, he would be working that day. But, when that day came, he gets to work and they have given him the day off. So he goes to this lecture, not really sure of what to expect.

It turned out to be very interesting for Jim, especially since he talked with this lecturer and asked him, “Have you really seen the Virgin?” The lecturer simply replied, “Kneel and pray with me.” So Jim kneels, and after a time Jim looks at the lecturer, who seems to have gone into a trance, just looking toward the ceiling, at what seems to be nothingness, while moving his lips wordlessly. So Jim thinks, the man must be seeing the Virgin Mary, so Jim decides to copy him. He does not see anything, but he feels something, something change.

Earlier, the lecturer had said his heart had been touched by Mary. Jim then questioned the lecturer why the Virgin Mary had never touched his heart (when Jim ended that sentence, he made everyone in the church jump, as he had sounded so loud, so angry, so bitter...everyone appeared startled). His heart was just not ready it seems, Jim was told...he was not fully pure. When he would reach that status, Christ would come into his heart. So Jim went home feeling beyond terrible...rather hopeless.

Yet when he woke the next day, he felt more wonderful than can even be described. Truly happy. He felt fulfilled....

Third part, a sign. Mel Gibson calls Jim, he wants Jim to play Christ. Mel had happened to be looking for a thirty-three-year old actor with the initials J.C., so Jim Caviezel was his man. Was it a sign? Was it somehow meant to be? Somehow his destiny had brought him to this point...he was meant to play Christ.

“I see a whole army of my countrymen, here in defiance of tyranny. You’ve come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight? Fight and you may die. Run, and you’ll live. At least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that...for one chance...just ONE CHANCE to come back here to tell our enemy that they may take our lives, but they will never take OUR FREEDOM!!! Every man dies, not every man really lives.’

That quote is from the film “Braveheart.”

I can tell you, by the time he finished, I was not only inspired, but also Catholic again. I had been brought up Eastern Catholic and had left the church when I was sixteen, I guess I was no longer religiously motivated (very uninspired). “The Passion,” though never having seen it, had started to bring out the old Catholic in me. I have been defending that film since it was announced and outraged at the anti-Catholic attitude of Hollywood (and the unjust anti-Semitic claims made on the film by those that have not seen it). The film, Mel Gibson, and now Jim Caviezel, I have to thank for bring me back to the Catholic church. Let’s hope it has this effect on not only me...but anyone undecided in their faith.

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