The premiere of a new PBS documentary that features the Congregation of Holy Cross and its apostolates, including Ave Maria Press, will air at 8:30 p.m. Sept. 21, 2015, on WNIT channel 34.1 in Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan.
The documentary Sacred Mission-Civic Duty, which looks at how Holy Cross and its apostolates have been influential to the growth and development of South Bend, Indiana, is part of WNIT’s celebration of the city’s 150th anniversary.
Ave Maria Press also celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding by Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C., this year. Ave is actually several weeks older than the city of South Bend.
Sacred Mission-Civic Duty explores the history and impact of the brothers, sisters, and priests of the Congregation of Holy Cross on education, health care, arts and culture, and the economy in South Bend and surrounding communities.
“There’s a small group of men and women living and working, often silently and behind the scenes, in our midst who have an outsized effect on Michiana,” says program producer Will Turbow. “Many area residents are simply unaware of these organizations, but they play big and important roles in South Bend’s continuing evolution.”
Through interviews with Rev. John Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame; Br. Chester Freel, C.S.C.,superior of the of the Midwest Province of the Brothers of Holy Cross; Sr. M. Veronique (Wiedower), president of the Sisters of the Holy Cross; Tom Grady, publisher of Ave Maria Press; and many others, WNIT viewers will learn how their lives are influenced by the Congregation, regardless of their religious faith.
Rebroadcasts of Sacred Mission-Civic Duty are scheduled on WNIT at 4 p.m. September 26 and at 7 p.m. Oct. 1.
