Faith Matters - The Church Program

Father Saju George Moolamthuruthi was born in Kerala in 1965. Inspired by the life and work of Mother Theresa, he decided to move to Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta. There he entered the Jesuit order, the Society of Jesus, and was ordained to the priesthood in 2001. While studying philosophy and theology, he also trained as a bharatanatyam dancer.

Father Saju is a priest who dances: a Jesuit who sets a statue of the dancing incarnation of the Hindu god Shiva next to a figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He has made a name for himself internationally as a professional dancer, and has established a centre for art and culture in a poor district of Kolkata. This is a film about a man who reconciles contradictions.

Thorsten Wagner filmed Father Saju in his Kolkata community, observed how he sets up his centre for art and culture, "Heart of Art,” on the pavement, and discovers the priest’s visions of building a temple and establishing a university for his dance. In Munich, Father Saju meets up with the president of the German Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Reinhard Marx. Germany is one of many countries in which Saju’s dance workshops have become well-known.