Blog
STORIES
Library
DONATE

Nun who stood up to Billy the Kid to be subject of TV series

This undated photo provided by People of God/Photo Archive Palace of the Governors shows Sister Blandina Segale. An Albuquerque production company is scheduled Wednesday, July 13, 2016 to announce a new project about Segale, an Italian-born nun who once challenged Billy the Kid and later opened New Mexico hospitals and schools. (People of God/Photo Archive Palace of the Governors via AP)
This undated photo provided by People of God/Photo Archive Palace of the Governors shows Sister Blandina Segale. An Albuquerque production company is scheduled Wednesday, July 13, 2016 to announce a new project about Segale, an Italian-born nun who once challenged Billy the Kid and later opened New Mexico hospitals and schools. (People of God/Photo Archive Palace of the Governors via AP)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An Italian-born nun who once challenged Billy the Kid, calmed angry mobs, opened hospitals and schools in the American Southwest and is now on a path toward possible Sainthood soon will be the subject of a TV series.
 
Saint Hood Productions based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, announced Wednesday a new project around Sister Blandina Segale — a 19th-Century nun whose clashes with Old West outlaws and work with immigrants has been the stuff of legend.
 
"At the End of the Santa Fe Trail" aims to be a fictional account based on Segale's life and largely will use material from her 1932 book with the same name. That book consisted of Segale's letters she wrote to her sister about the lawlessness in Trinidad, Colorado, and in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. She also discussed working with immigrants and prisoners.
 
Her encounters with Old West outlaws later became the subject of an episode of the CBS series "Death Valley Days," titled "The Fastest Nun in the West."
 
According to one story, she received a tip that Billy the Kid was coming to her town to scalp four doctors who refused to treat his friend's gunshot wound. Segale nursed the friend to health, and when Billy went to Trinidad to thank her, she convinced him to abandon his violent plan.
 
Allen Sanchez, president and CEO of CHI St. Joseph's Children — an Albuquerque community health organization born of Segale's work — said the nun is a perfect subject for a television series since many of the same issues she faced still resonate.
 
"She saw a divided country. She fought violence with nonviolence. She worked to stop discrimination against immigrants," Sanchez said. "These are all things we are seeing today."
In this Aug. 25, 2015 file photo, pamphlets and prayer cards of Sister Blandina Segale sit on a table at the Catholic Center in Albuquerque, N.M. The Italian-born nun who once challenged Billy the Kid and later opened New Mexico hospitals and schools will soon be the subject of a television series. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras, File)
In this Aug. 25, 2015 file photo, pamphlets and prayer cards of Sister Blandina Segale sit on a table at the Catholic Center in Albuquerque, N.M. The Italian-born nun who once challenged Billy the Kid and later opened New Mexico hospitals and schools will soon be the subject of a television series. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras, File)
The new production comes as Albuquerque has become a popular filming location for television series, ranging for AMC-TV's "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" and NBC's "The Night Shift."
 
It also comes just as the Roman Catholic Church is examining Segale for Sainthood.
 
In October, the Archdiocese of Santa Fe formally closed its inquiry on why the legendary nun should become a saint and sent its findings to the Vatican.
 
The public inquiry, headed by former Archbishop Michael Sheehan, was aimed at determining if there was enough evidence to move her case through the largely secret process at the Vatican.
 
Witnesses said Segale fought against the cruel treatment of American Indians and sought to stop the trafficking of women as sex slaves. They also testified that in death, Segale has helped cancer patients and poor immigrants who have prayed to her for help.
 
It's the first time in New Mexico's 400-year history with the Roman Catholic Church that an inquiry was completed in the state on the cause of beatification and canonization.
 
Officials say determining whether Segale qualifies for sainthood could take up to a century. The Vatican has to investigate her work and monitor for any related "miracles."
In this June 25, 2014, file photo, Archbishop Michael Sheehan talks to reporters at St. Joseph Community Health in Albuquerque, N.M., during an announcement the Archdiocese of Santa Fe is exploring sainthood for Sister Blandina Segale. Segale, an Italian-born nun who once challenged Billy the Kid and later opened New Mexico hospitals and schools, will soon be the subject of a television series. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras, file)
In this June 25, 2014, file photo, Archbishop Michael Sheehan talks to reporters at St. Joseph Community Health in Albuquerque, N.M., during an announcement the Archdiocese of Santa Fe is exploring sainthood for Sister Blandina Segale. Segale, an Italian-born nun who once challenged Billy the Kid and later opened New Mexico hospitals and schools, will soon be the subject of a television series. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras, file)
Segale, a nun with the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati and an advocate for Hispanics and Native Americans, founded schools in New Mexico and St. Joseph Hospital, a predecessor of the Albuquerque health organization. She worked as an educator and social worker in Ohio, Colorado and New Mexico.
 
Tomas Sanchez, executive producer and director of the Segale production, said 98 percent of the cast and crew will be from New Mexico.
 
"I am honored to tell Sister Blandina's story," he said. "This task requires lots of attention to history and demands that we hire the best New Mexican cast and crew to execute some very technically challenging film sequences."
 
Officials said the production is working on finding a network to air the series.
 
 
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material 
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Page created on 7/13/2016 7:41:17 PM

Last edited 7/17/2017 9:26:30 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.