When Westminster filmmaker Tim Watkins was creating footage for a documentary on Our Lady of Guadalupe, he went to the most logical place.
He visited Mexico, where Saint Juan Diego is believed to have uncovered the Our Lady of Guadalupe's image in the 16th century.
Watkin's journey also took him to Spain, where he made other connections to the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Watkins will debut "The Blood & The Rose" from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Warner Theatre in Washington.
The documentary tells the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe's divine apparition, which helped spread Catholicism in Mexico.
The apparition
After the Aztec empire fell to Spanish forces, few natives were converted to Christianity until miracles started happening in the 16th century, according to http://www.sancta.org, a website with information about the history of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
A Native American who became Saint Juan Diego claimed to receive a visit from an apparition that identified herself as the Virgin Mary near what is now Mexico City. She made a request for the church to be built on the site.
After a bishop requested a sign from God to show a church should be built there, he got one when Juan Diego returned with an image of the Virgin Mary imprinted on his cactus cloth.
"If I had any clothes in my closet that were 20 years old, they would be pretty ratty," Watkins said. "This thing is nearly 500 years old and is still in pristine condition."
The image is on display at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.
The film
The documentary, with a $1.6 million budget, had scenes filmed in Mexico, Spain and New Mexico.
Eduardo Verastegui, who starred in the film "Bella," narrated the documentary.
Contrary to popular belief, there isn't a Guadalupe, Mexico, but there is one in Spain. The town is where a shepherd once discovered a statue of the Virgin Mary in the 13th century.
A monastery was built at that site. It is still there today.
"That's a fascinating part of the story when you find out there's no such place as Guadalupe, Mexico," Watkins said. "That's one of the real intrigues of this."
The filmmaker
Watkins, a parishioner at St. John Catholic Church in Westminster, is the owner of Renegade Productions in Hunt Valley.
The Westminster resident was a collaborator with Father Leo Patalinghug's Grace Before Meals initiative. The former St. John Catholic Church priest created cookbooks and videos that encourage families to cook, and eat, at home.
Patalinghug is scheduled to be one of the guest speakers at the documentary premiere in Washington.
"I'm a devout, daily, mass-going Catholic," Watkins said. "So I jumped at the opportunity to do something about a Catholic-based apparition."
