Documentary On Iconic Hollywood 'Rosary Priest' Debuts Theatrically October 9

In 1945, an immigrant Irish Catholic priest newly arrived in Los Angeles called Bing Crosby, and asked him to help create a radio program to talk about prayer. Bing, along with many other big named stars, said yes, igniting a family and faith-based production company that still exists today.

That priest, Father Patrick Peyton, is now on the road to sainthood, having touched tens of millions of lives, and influencing many others who only heard the phrase he coined -- "the family that prays together stays together." As a result, Peyton really is the most famous man you never heard of.

That anonymity ends when PRAY: The Story Of Patrick Peyton, a new documentary film that tells his story that premieres in select theaters across the U.S. on Oct. 9. PRAY chronicles the extraordinary life of Father Patrick Peyton, the clergyman known the world over as "The Rosary Priest", who not only produced hundreds of broadcasts, but traveled the world speaking to crowds numbering in the hundreds of thousands at a time.

From his humble beginnings as a cathedral janitor in Scranton, PA, Father Peyton became a media pioneer, convincing celebrities such as Gregory Peck, Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, Jimmy Stewart, Loretta Young, Jack Benny, Maureen O'Hara, Kirk Douglas, Raymond Burr, Shirley Temple, William Shatner, Bob Newhart, James Dean and Princess Grace to join him on radio and TV in the promotion of prayer. Family Theater Productions in Hollywood produced 900 radio and TV programs that featured hundreds of entertainers, and had more than 10,000 broadcasts.

(Link to Princess Grace and John Huston participating in a Family Theater production:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iNXciJMnPo and link to James Dean's very first screen appearance on one of Father Peyton's productions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha0Xhx4gAVs) Father Peyton began Family Rosary crusades, in Albany in 1942, with the goal of building peace through daily prayer after using faith to heal himself from tuberculosis as a young seminarian.

He went on to lead millions in prayer at over 540 Family Rosary Rallies that drew an estimated 28 million people, including 2 million each at events in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Manila, Philippines. Father Peyton's crusades drew overflow crowds in New York, in Melbourne, Australia. In 1961, over 500,000 people heard him at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

With interwoven historical footage and photos, interviews with family, friends and fellow clergy, and miraculous accounts of Father Peyton's powers PRAY: The Story of Patrick Peyton illuminates the LIFE STORY of a 20th Century religious icon.

The film opens on Oct. 9 in select theaters across the U.S.
For theater listings visit www.PrayTheFilm.com.

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