Bishop and priest co-operated with film advocating homosexuality in the priesthood and female priests

'Magnificat': what if the priest was a woman?

In a French diocese, the revelation that a priest who had just died was in fact a woman caused great confusion and deep questioning. This is the guiding thread of the feature film Magnificat, which hits screens on June 21, 2023. cath.ch spoke with the director, Virginie Sauveur.

Charlotte (Karine Viard) is a smart and determined chancellor of the diocese, raising her teenage son alone. When she discovers that the beloved Father Foucher, recently deceased, had managed to hide his female gender all his life, she comes up against ecclesiastical authorities determined to cover up the affair. Charlotte then embarks on the search for the true identity of the priest. The investigation will bring to the surface heavy secrets, also about the Chancellor's own past. She will also pose burning questions about the place of women in the Church.

Where did the idea for this film come from?

Virginie Sauveur: One day I received the book Les femmes en noir, by Anne-Isabelle Lacassagne (2017). She worked with the Bishop of Nantes (Laurent Percerou). The book interested me, especially the character of Charlotte. But I really decided to bring the book to the cinema when an essential aspect appeared to me: in the West, the priesthood is still the last sector of society to which women do not have access at all.

With Karin Viard, we rewrote the role of Charlotte again, in order to best fit the character. It was ultimately important to us that in seeking the truth about Father Foucher, she uncovered her own secrets and wounds. It's always exciting to tell about heroines or heroes who are able to break rules that seem unfair or regressive to them, to claim their freedom.

Then, with my co-author Nicolas Silhol, we produced, with the author's agreement, a very free adaptation of the book, especially to make it something more cinematic.

What did you want to say through this story?

For me, this idea of discovering the femininity of a priest was first and foremost an opportunity to tell an interesting and powerful story. Especially in the current context, where Pope Francis is blowing a wind of modernity on the Church and seems to open the door to women. It is already significant that he allowed them to vote at the next Synod of Bishops.

To tell the truth, I also had a lot of fun staging the panic, the amazement of the bishop who discovers that Father Foucher was a woman. It was also very enjoyable for François Berléand (the actor who plays Mgr Mével).

Is this then a point against the Church?

Absolutely not. The purpose of this film is not at all to criticize the Church. I don't consider myself the standard bearer of anything. At the start, it was mainly the dramatic principle of the story that interested me, as I said.

How well do you know the environment of the Church?

I was born into a Catholic family. I was baptized, I made my first communion. I even gave catechism lessons when I was a student to pay for my room. So I have some inner knowledge of this world, although still limited. For the film, we had to document ourselves, get advice from different types of experts. For example, Monsignor Jacques Turck helped us a lot. In particular, he indicated to us the right gestures to make, the right words to pronounce on the part of a priest.

Cathcon: The Monsignor has previous form which will be detailed in a subsequent post.

While documenting myself, I also encountered the frustration of women who work a lot within the Church, and who have the impression that their voice is only little heard.

What is your position in relation to the Church, to the Christian faith?

I would simply say that I have a very great Christian sensibility. I have an immense curiosity and admiration for Christ and his word, to which I am very attached. Jesus, for me, was an incredible man, and a great feminist, who tried to put women at the center, in an extremely misogynistic society.

But I do not consider myself Catholic, in the sense that the authority of the Church seems to me to be very far from my sensibility. In what is my own truth, I find that the Church sometimes lacks tolerance, openness, that there are many condemnations, restrictions. In general, I have a spiritual life which helps me a lot, even if I am not really a religion.

This ambivalence between perplexity and respect is reflected in the film...

Effectively. I don't want to make Manichaean films, which distinctly separate black from white, or which impose lessons. My goal is not to give answers, but to raise questions. Thus, the characters of the film all have some complexity. There are no "bad guys" in the first sense. I believe we are all made of light and shadow. Bishop Mével, who is doing everything to cover up the affair, is not a "bad guy", he is sorry, he is lost, he was brought up in certain rules, which he wants to respect.

Father Lataste, who lived with Father Foucher, certainly represents the open side of the Church...

Yes. In fact, I absolutely wanted a priest in the film to have the discourse that, in my opinion, Jesus could have had. A word of love and respect. I really like the character of Père Lataste. He is for me the ideal priest, who holds the ideal discourse of Christianity. At the same time, I stage another priest, who is also very positive, who is ‘rachaï’ (priest in the gypsy language) and who follows the travellers. He is extremely devoted to his community, but for him, a priest is a boy, because he represents Christ, who was a boy. It is also a way of answering the question, which must be listened to.

I realize that a great diversity of sensitivities co-exist within the Church. I have met priests with magnificent openness, tolerance and love. In his support on the set, Monsignor Turck, for example, was always benevolent and non-judgmental.

The film seems to plead all the same clearly in favor of the priesthood for women…

Once again, I do not want to give answers, there is certainly a hope, a desire to open up reflection, without dividing or provoking. Beyond that, I think the Magnificat can resonate with all women who are asking to participate more fully in their Church community. This is not my main fight, but my small building block to help these women.

I also made this film thinking of people who are afraid, afraid of being upset by change. But that's okay, because the world is constantly changing. Life is short and I think that to be happy, you really have to have the courage to be yourself and lead the life you want to lead.

Cathcon: This patronising myth yet again that traditionalists are afraid! 

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