MANILA, Philippines ? Last month, we flew to Italy to shoot a documentary about the devotion of Filipinos to Saint (Padre) Pio. We were with over 70 Filipino pilgrims from Canada and the Philippines. The itinerary of the pilgrimage also included Portugal, Spain and France.

For the documentary, our group got an all-access pass from Tele Radio Padre Pio. The three-man crew composed of host-producer, Boots Anson-Roa, writer-director NUT, and myself was allowed to roam freely around relevant sites, like the Our Lady of Grace church, The Crypt, the Mosaic Walls, St. Pio Church, The Way of the Cross Monument and Casa Sollievo Della Sofferenza, the hospital for the itinerant poor that was the revered saint?s pet project.

Tita Boots recently underwent an operation, but was so ?game? during the shoot that she even skipped lunch, endured long, tiring walks in the freezing weather, and didn?t complain about jetlag.

Since we wanted to capture her devotion to St. Pio, we armed Tita Boots with a video camera to shoot her own reflection. She was a fast learner. Like an eager and curious student, she kept tinkering with her camera and asking for tips on how to use it. Throughout the four-hour bus trip from Rome to San Giovanni Rotondo, she kept on shooting and shooting!

Final resting place

Most memorable were the Mosaic Walls leading to the final resting place of St. Pio, where we saw the Filipino connection, the beautiful panels generously donated by the Philippine Center for St. Pio of Pietrelcina.

Shooting on location provided big challenges ? we had no interpreter, map (we got lost going back to our hotel after a tiring shoot), or production assistants to carry heavy equipment. But, with the help of generous Italians and our fellow Filipino pilgrims, we were able to conquer the challenges through faith, making the documentary a truly memorable project for us!