Unpublished Script

[matijev1]

This was an assignment from an independent publisher to write about the life of a catholic saint. They liked the work but ultimately decided to go in another direction. Thought I would post to get some feedback.

Introduction


Modern day social work is described as providing an organized structure to advance the social conditions of a particular community. Whether that is through educating the poor or providing the homeless with shelter, social work is dedicating oneself to helping the underprivileged. Marie Guillemette Emilie de Rodat or Saint Emily, by happenstance, found her calling and began a long life of assisting those in need.

Emily was born into a fairly wealthy family and her young life was free from poverty and the social conditions of the French Revolution. In 1804, she began teaching at Maison Saint Cyr and soon found herself on three occasions searching for her purpose in life. It was in 1804 she found that purpose. While visiting a sick woman, she overheard a conversation about the challenges of poor families not being able to afford schooling. That moment defined the rest of her life. Within four weeks, she had 40 pupils being taught out of her small room at Maison Saint Cyr.

That moment led to the eventual creation of the Congregation of the Holy Family, whose chapters dedicated their time to bettering the social conditions of those in need. Today with houses in France, Spain, Switzerland, England, Brazil, Africa and Bolivia, their focus is running orphanages and health care centers.

Emily de Rodat died of cancer on September 18, 1852 and was canonized by Pope Pius XII during the Holy Year 1950.










Page 1:

Panel 1:
Panel 1 shows its night in the Villefranche area. The camera angle is from offshore, showing sporadic lights on shore.

Narration: Journal Entry 213: Today was a hard day.

Panel 2:
The camera pans over City. The houses are all quiet. A few lights shine from some windows. It is very late.

Narration: We had been expecting a shipment of medical supplies and goods from Aubin, but they did not show.

Panel 3:
Camera zooms to a small commune. There is a single window lit.

Narration: Many of the Sisters felt this was yet another sign that we should not be forming our own congregation, but Mother Emily calmed them down.

Panel 4
Camera zooms to the inside of the room.

Narration: She said “Put your trust in God, my fellow sisters. Have faith and all shall be well.”






Page 2:

Panel 1:
The woman is a bit on the tattered side. Her hair is a bit messy.

Narration: Mother Emily always seems to know just what to say to the order to keep them going. It seems she knows just what to say to keep us all going.

Panel 2:
She turns with a fright, as there is a click at her door.

Adrienne: Many of…AAAiiiieee…

Panel 3:
The camera shows from inside the room and the woman’s perspective that the door to the room is slightly open. The figure at the door, obviously in nun’s garb, is silhouetted by the candle lantern she holds in her right hand.

Mother Emily: Adrienne is everything alright?

Adrienne: Oh, Mother Emily, you startled me.

Panel 4:
The camera angle is from behind Mother Emily looking into the room, Emily’s head in frame.

Mother Emily: I saw the light from under your door…it is late child; you should be getting some rest.

Adrienne: Yes Mother Emily, I was just writing down some thoughts for the day and then I will be off to bed.

Panel 5:
Camera returns to inside the room, Mother Emily makes her leave.

Mother Emily: Very well child. Remember, He expects us all to use our talents for His purpose…without proper rest, you will surely falter. Good night child.

Adrienne: Good Night, Mother Emily.



Page 3

Panel 1:
Adrienne looks solemnly at her small wooden table that substitutes for a desk.
Adrienne: (To Herself) Forgive me for saying Lord, but she startled me so. Now where was I?

Panel 2:
Adrienne continues writing, the place where she left off smeared with ink from her brief fright.

Narration: well today was a long hard day and there are many chores for tomorrow. Its time I drift to sleep. Until tomorrow.

Panel 3:
Adrienne moves to a bed with a very thin mattress. Her blanket is tattered as well. She is carrying a candle.

Adrienne: Mother Emily was surely up late. The other sisters mentioned her sleep has been off lately. I hope all is well with her.

Panel 4:
Adrienne blows out the candle.
Adrienne: There are four corners on my bed, There are four angels at my head. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Bless the bed I sleep on. **


Page 4

One page spread. The scene shifts to morning. Many Nuns and young ladies work in the commune halls tending to their chores. Children are scattered here and there. They are wearing tattered clothes and are dirty. Adrienne carries a pile of books down the hall.


Narration: The next morning…

Adrienne: (To Herself) Pull it together Adrienne; you have hours left to go until you are finished.




Page 5

Panel 1:
Walking down the hall Adrienne passes a room with no door. Inside a Nun teaches a group of students.

Adrienne: (To Herself) Surely God did not want me to be carrying books all my life. I would like the chance to teach here as well…

Panel 2:
Adrienne walks up to two Nuns speaking to each other. She overhears their conversation.

Nun 1: Did you hear last night?

Nun 2: Oh my yes. Poor Mother Emily. She moaned most of the night.

Nun 1: The disease spreads quickly. Doctor in Aubin said it will not be long before her eyes fail her.

Panel 3:
Adrienne walks into a small room used for storage. There are various books and papers lining the makeshift wooden shelves along the walls.

Adrienne: My how sad this makes me. I had heard gossip about Mother’s condition, but I had not realized it was so serious.

Panel 4:
Adrienne leaves the small room. She walks into a group of her fellow workers and Nuns heading in the same direction.

Adrienne: Sister Gisella, what has happened?

Sister: The Supplies from Aubin have arrived…come child.



Page 6

Panel 1:
Outside a horse drawn cart with medical supplies, food, and cloth (blankets, etc.) is being unloaded by a small rotund man.


Man: (To Himself) This place always gives me the creeps. All the sick and dying…

Panel 2:
Adrienne walks outside the doors and there are several Nuns walking with her.
Adrienne: Thank Heaven. We were almost out of everything in the hospital. I hope…

Panel 3:
A voice calls out from a window on the second floor. A veiled Nun (Emily) leans slightly out to greet her followers carrying the supplies.

Mother Emily: You see Sisters…Keep your enthusiasm. The Lord has answered our prayers and rewarded our hard work. Thanks be to God.



Page 7

Panel 1:
Evening again and Adrienne is writing in her journal. She hears a ruckus outside her door.

Narration: Journal Entry 214. Much to the delight of the commune, our supplies came today. We spent the better….huh

Panel 2:
Adrienne opens the door and peers outside. At the far end of the hall a group of Nuns is walking away from her.

Adrienne: Now I wonder where they are off to in such a hurry.


Panel 3:
Adrienne inside her room reaches for the candle on her table.

Adrienne: Wherever they are going, I plan to find out.

Panel 4:
Adrienne peers around the corner outside her door and sees that the Nuns are no longer in sight.



Page 8


Panel 1:
Adrienne sneaks down the hall after the nuns. The light coming from the candle casts large ominous shadows

Panel 2:
Adrienne arrives at a turn in the hallway and she looks around the corner.

Panel 3:
Adrienne sees the last of the Nuns walk into Mother Emily’s room.

Panel 4:
Adrienne sneaks her way down the hall. Mother’s door is slightly ajar.

Panel 5:
Adrienne leans her head into the door.
Word balloon: (From inside the room) …night that guided me, Oh, night more lovely than the dawn, Oh, night that joined Beloved with lover, Lover transformed in the Beloved!





Page 9


Panel 1:
Outside shot of the building. It is day time.

Panel 2:
Inside the building we are now at the hospital location. Patients line the room in rows on both sides of slender room. There are a few Nuns and laypeople working, cleaning and tending to the patients. Adrienne is sweeping.

Adrienne: (To Herself) What were they doing last night? The words they were saying and that moaning. I…

Panel 3:
Adrienne sees Mother Emily (we see Emily from behind) seated next to a bed. She is speaking to the patient attempting to ease their pain.

Mother Emily: You have given me a spirit of praise and worship, which is my strength in the face of the enemy. Thank You for Your armor, Your name, Your blood, your Spirit. No weapon formed against me shall prosper. Thank You Father. I love You.

Panel 4:
Adrienne is closer to Mother Emily. Emily rises and from the chair.
Emily begins to fall.

Panel 5:
Adrienne drops the broom and braces Mother Emily.

Adrienne: Mother Emily!






Page 10


Panel 1:
From behind we see Mother Emily leaning on Adrienne. Adrienne’s arm is around her waist.

Mother Emily: Thank you child. Sigh. Alas this body begins to fail me.

Adrienne: I have you Mother. Use me as a brace.

Panel 2:
Emily takes Adrienne’s hand.
Mother Emily: Now, now child. The only brace I need I receive from our Lord.

Panel 3:
Adrienne walks with Mother Emily towards the hospital door.

Mother Emily: Nonetheless, walk with me to my room child. There is something I would like to talk to you about.

Panel 4:
Final panel shows Adrienne’s broom on the floor.






Page 11


Panel 1:
Emily and Adrienne walk down the hallway. Children and Nuns line the halls.

Emily: So my child, Sister Gisella tells me you are considering your vows.

Adrienne: Yes Mother. I am still unsure. My parents wish is for me to get married and settle down. They find this life unsettling.

Panel 2:
Emily and Adrienne turn down a hallway. The camera sits above to the right of them as they turn right.

Emily: Well child, sacrificing one’s self for the glory of our Father is a big step and not to be taken lightly. I myself had many of the same challenges.

Panel 3:
Adrienne opens Mother Emily’s door.

Adrienne: Well Mother, if you could spare some advice I would…

Panel 4:
Mother Emily walks in, Adrienne is behind her. Mother Emily is still facing away from the camera.

Mother Emily: Now, now child, come inside, there is much I would like to share with you.

Panel 5:
Mother Emily sits in a chair. Adrienne sits on a bed facing her. The camera is pointed towards Adrienne, Emily in the foreground.

Mother Emily: I wish to tell you about my childhood and how I came to find my way in this world.



Pages 12 & 13


This is a two page spread of various images of Emily’s life. The flow is left to right and top to bottom…

Top Row

Image 1-Baby in basinet wrapped tightly in blankets.

Narration: I was born in Castle Druelle near Rodez.

Image 2-Man holding Emily and woman leaning out of horse drawn carriage to take the child

Narration: To escape the dangers of the French Revolution, my family sent me away to live with my Grandmother here in Villefranche. I was a mere 18 months old.

Image 3- A young Emily, age 8, slapping a young boy of the same age.

Narration: I was somewhat devout as a young girl, much to the chagrin of my cousin when he decided he wanted to sneak a kiss.

Image 4-A young Emily, age 15 in a very pretty dress, no shoes…running away from a church. From the church door a Nun stands with her arm raised…appears to be shouting.

Narration: As I grew older, I grew away from the Church. My Grandmother did not take kindly to this and sent me back to Druelle to live with my parents.

Middle Row

Image 5-Emily now 18/19 teaching class and pointing at a map of France.

Narration: When I turned 17, I suddenly realized my calling and returned here to Maison Saint Cyr and took up teaching and helping around the commune. It was there I met Abbe Antoine Marty. He was very influential during the course of my life.







Image 6-Emily in a carriage age 22-23 looking down. Her hand is on her head.

Narration: Three times I left Maison and went to find my way in the world. Much to my dismay I found little that fulfilled purpose in life. I returned here somewhat ashamed.

Image 7-Emily now 28 tending to a sick woman while outside several ladies are standing together. They are dirty and their clothes are tattered.

Narration: In 1815, while on my daily visit to one of the local sick women. I found her neighbors speaking about how they could no longer afford to send their children to school. It was then I knew what I needed to do.

Bottom Row

Image 8-Emily in a small room with several children surrounding her. She is standing at the end of the room; the children are seated on the floor around her.

Narration: I started teaching the local children in my room here at Maison Saint Cyr. It was difficult and cramped, but it had to be done. We eventually moved to a more spacious location.

Image 9-Emily with a group of Nuns and women carrying supplies enter a monastery.

Narration: After a few years, I was contacted by my old friend and mentor Abbe Marty. He said that the Maison was shutting down. I decided to take ownership of the facility and set up our congregation there.

Image 10-Two doctors and three nurses caring for several women in beds. Mother Emily is in the room with them.

Narration: Along the way our lives were filled with challenges…none to say the least when our congregation was stricken with an inexplicable plague, killing several of our order.

Image 11-Emily donning her veil.

Narration: We persevered and eventually we founded our order…The Congregation of the Holy Family. It was then we took our vows as a community to serve the people of our Lord.





Page 14

Panel 1:
Shows writing on a parchment style paper. The words depicted on the page are “to serve the people of our Lord.”

Panel 2:
Adrienne returns her pen to the ink vessel on her table.

Narration: Her last words to me during our conversation I shall not forget. She said that no one can choose my fate for me…I am the only one that can find and follow my path.


Panel 3:
Adrienne has moved to her bed and she is turning down the tattered blankets.

Adrienne: I just hope that I too can be as strong as Mother Emily. I have thought too long about my path in this world just as she did.

Panel 4:

Adrienne is covering herself with the blanket.

Adrienne: I know now what I must do and I just pray that everyone will support me.


Panel 5:
Emily blows out her candle.

Adrienne: And to you Mother Emily…Good night.





Page 15

Panel 1:
The camera moves outside Adrienne’s room and down the hallway.

Narration: …night that guided me, Oh, night more lovely than the dawn, Oh, night that joined Beloved with lover, Lover transformed in the Beloved!

Panel 2:
Farther down the hallway outside Mother Emily’s room.

Narration: Upon my flowery breast, Kept wholly for himself alone, There he stayed sleeping, and I caressed him, And the fanning of the cedars made a breeze.

Panel 3:

Inside Mother Emily’s room, she sits on her bed with her legs up, her arms wrapped around her knees.

Narration: The breeze blew from the turret As I parted his locks; With his gentle hand he wounded my neck And caused all my senses to be suspended.

Panel 4:

Close up of Mother Emily’s eyes and she has tears running down her cheeks.

Narration: I remained, lost in oblivion; My face I reclined on the Beloved. All ceased and I abandoned myself, Leaving my cares forgotten among the lilies.






Page 16

Panel 1:

This panel is all black.

Narration: September 18, 1852

Panel 2:

Adrienne lifts her head. The black from panel 1 was her habit. She is now in Nuns garb.

Adrienne: to all my superiors and their successors according to Our Holy Rule and Constitutions, and I hope with God’s grace to persevere faithfully until death. ***

Panel 3:

Mother Foy is standing in front of Sister Adrienne and she is holding out her hands to her sides.

Mother Foy: Welcome to the order, Sister Adrienne.

Adrienne: Thank you, Mother Foy.


Panel 4:

The doors to the church open and another Sister enters.

Sister: Mother Foy! Mother Foy…its Mother Emily. She…




Page 17


Single page picture. In the center of the page is a picture of Emily’s funeral. Her coffin surrounded by Nuns, peasant folk, and a priest. Surrounding the image are several smaller pictures of the people that Emily impacted during her life. From left to right:

Image 1- A group of small children holding school books. They are dirty and wearing tattered clothes.

Image 2- A room full of beds with patients in each.

Image 3- A group of elderly people, clothed and blanketed in a room. Nuns are looking after them.

Image 4- Several prisoners seated together eating at a table.







Page 18

Panel 1:

Single page portrait of Emily and this is the first time we see her face.



Narration: It was on the 19th Day of September, 1852 that Mother Emily was born into glory. During her life she dedicated herself to educating the poor, sheltering the homeless and housing the elderly. She even visited and cared for prisoners in local jails. Emily devoted her life to caring for others and was canonized on April 23, 1950.

[Multisync143]

A biographical comic about a catholic saint isn’t really my thing, but it was a decent read. Would you consider giving her superpowers? Never mind that was a stupid question.

[matijev1]

Thanks for the feedback. Wasnt my thing either but it was work.