The opening scene of the new film “Benedetta” shows the Carlini family stopping by a roadside shrine of the Blessed Mother so that their daughter, Benedetta, can pray. She has great devotion to Mary. Suddenly, a band of marauders surround them seeking to steal from the father the dowry he would give to the convent so that his daughter becomes a theatin sister. The apparently 10-year-old girl stands up to the men, calling on Mary’s power to protect them, and she does. They go their way.

The film of more than two hours then chronicles the rise of Benedetta to become abbess of the convent of Pescia, Italy, in the 17th century. It reveals extraordinary, almost supernatural powers to protect the convent from the plague, which to an extent has not affected the inhabitants of this city.

Based on the non-fiction work by historian Judith C. Brown in 1986 “Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy”, this film and two recent novels – “The Matrix” by Lauren Groff and “Agatha of Little Neon” by Claire Luchette – show how the lives of strong and religious women of the past can inspire women to claim their place in the church today.

Actress Virginie Efira plays Benedetta as an adult nun, emphasizing that nuns are seen as brides of Christ. In the movie, she has visions of Jesus speaking to her and sometimes allows the voice of Jesus to speak through her. At one point, she takes the stigmata of Jesus and her hands and head begin to spill blood, making her a hero of the townspeople who support the convent and also lead her to become an abbess. The Abbess played by actress Charlotte Rampling became jealous of Benedetta and the convent priest’s chaplain organized her disappearance so that Benedetta could replace her.

Before the movie started in a theater in The Brick, I asked a local young man why he would come to see a movie about medieval nuns and he said one word: “Verhoeven”.

Conor Walton, 31, of Belmar, is a huge fan of director Paul Verhoeven, who was responsible for “Robocop”, “Total Recall”, “Basic Instinct” and “Showgirls”. Still, he wasn’t so excited about the 83-year-old’s latest film work, he told me afterwards.

“Although this is a film well done by a director that I am a fan of, I did not find its message of religious hypocrisy particularly interesting,” said Walton, a history buff and fanatic. social studies in college. professor at Cedar Hill Prep in Somerset.

When the former abbess accuses Benedetta of breaking her vows of chastity with Sister Bartolomea (Daphne Patakia), the pompous nuncio (Clarence Wilson) of Florence decides to go to Pescia, even though Benedetta has ordered the doors of the church to be closed. city ​​to foreigners. He brings not only his royal retinue but also the plague. Her presence among the nuns shows the patriarchy of the Catholic Church and exposes the way women were treated.

Bernadette Brooten, a biblical scholar formerly at Harvard Divinity, taught that women’s cloisters and convents through the ages have allowed them to control their own destiny, to some extent, independent of male domination. Until the hierarchy gets involved.

“Matrix” is the similar story of a young girl, Mary, sent to become the abbess of a struggling 12th century English convent, to rule for over 60 years and make her, along with the city, a power. economic with nearly 200 nuns at the time. she died. Historical details may have been drawn from the life of the mystical poet Mary of France, who some believe to be Mary, Abbess of Shaftsbury, the half-sister of the English King Henry II.

See ‘Benedetta’ Before Readings Groff’s work allows you to visualize the sparse lifestyle of the women of the convent before modern conveniences.

“Agatha of Little Neon” is a colorful and airy work by contemporary Buffalo-area nuns who run a daycare before being evicted and living in a halfway house in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The title of the book is taken from the outward appearance – “The Color of Mountain Dew” – of the residence, and Sister Agatha is the narrator. It takes place in 2005, while Blockbuster was still in the neighborhood. She ends up teaching math at a nearby high school and lives with three other sisters.

Love and attraction between people of the same sex are presented in each of the three works; Verhoeven really goes too far in the film.

I think the point, however, is to show that some women claim their truth despite a church that has not only suppressed women but has also denied their equality.

Which brings me back to the young man in the theater. When I asked Walton if he was Catholic, he gave a lukewarm answer. But he said he was trying to attend mass more.

“I think with all the uncertainty and fear in the world, the tradition and the community that the church represents seems like it could be a source of comfort and comfort,” he told me.

The kicker, however, was his conclusion.

“Ironically,” he said, “going to see a movie about the hypocrisy of religion helped strengthen my faith.”

As did convents and cloisters for women.

Reverend Alexander Santora is the pastor of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph, 400 Willow Ave., Hoboken, NJ 07030. E-mail: [email protected]; Twitter: @padrehoboken.

Details …

“Benedetta”, directed by Paul Verhoeven, plays in select theaters in New York and New Jersey. In French with English subtitles. The film is not rated.

“Matrix”, by Lauren Groff; Head of the river, 2021. $ 28.

“Agatha du petit néon”, by Claire Luchette; Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021. $ 26.