Originally published at National Catholic Register
Docudrama scenes and animation illustrate the heroic actions of the priestly quintet.
The Five Priests, a full-length documentary film about five French-born priests known as the “Shreveport Martyrs” who gave their lives ministering to the sick during the devastating Yellow Fever epidemic of 1873 in Shreveport, Louisiana, will premiere Oct. 8 on EWTN.
Through details in the extensive records and letters from that time, the film makes use of the priests’ and local people’s own words and descriptions.
Fathers Isidore Quémerais, Jean Pierre, Jean-Marie Biler, Louis Gergaud and François Le Vézouët are all “Servants of God” as their canonization cause continues. The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in Rome granted that the five priests be considered together as one cause. They have always been known and referred to collectively in the diocese as the “Shreveport Martyrs.” The epidemic that showed their sacrifice lasted from late August to mid-November of 1873. The five priests died between Sept. 15 and Oct. 8.
The Five Priests, a multi-award winner at national and international film festivals, including the Cannes World Film Festival, is based on the book Shreveport Martyrs of 1873: The Surest Path to Heaven, co-authored by Father Peter Mangum,
