RTE - Guns and Rosaries (2019)
Father Patrick Peyton was an Irish priest who became an unlikely Hollywood mogul, recruiting celebrities to a global prayer campaign that reached millions. Secretly, he also worked for the CIA in its Cold War battle with Communism.
Martin Sheen narrates this documentary on Father Patrick Peyton, the Irish-American priest who brought Hollywood celebrities and millions across the globe to their knees in praying the Rosary. From the mid-1940s and with his famous slogan ‘the family that prays together stays together,’ Father Peyton built a media empire in radio, TV and movies.
Controversially, Fr Peyton's efforts came to the attention of the CIA which secretly funded his Rosary Crusade as a weapon of mass devotion to fight 'Godless communism' during the Cold War.
Guns & Rosaries features a wonderful collection of archive film, insightful comment and the recollections of those who knew Father Peyton, including Bob Newhart who is one of the last Hollywood Greats to work with the Rosary Priest.
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