US army chaplain meets Italian monks in Paisan (1946)

US army chaplain meets Italian monks in Paisan (1946)

From Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast by CatholicCulture.org

October 7, 2025 · 1h 10m

About this episode

The episode explores Roberto Rossellini's film Paisan, focusing on the American troops' interactions with Italian culture during World War II.

Roberto Rossellini's 1946 World War II film Paisan has a unique structure: six vignettes following the American troops north from their landing in Sicily through Naples, Rome, Florence, Romagna, and the Po Delta. However, the film takes the perspective of the Italians, with the Americans more often than not naive outsiders. It is a fascinating exploration of the clash of cultures in the tragic scenarios of war and foreign occupation. One segment in particular will be very interesting to Catholics: an American priest serving as an army chaplain visits a Franciscan monastery along with his Protestant and Jewish chaplain counterparts and encounters a more intense and less ecumenical religiosity than he is accustomed to. SIGN UP for Catholic Culture's newsletter: https://www.catholicculture.org/newsletters DONATE to keep this podcast going: https://www.catholicculture.org/donate/audio Music is The Duskwhales, "Take It Back", used with permission. https://theduskwhales.bandcamp.com

Topics covered

  • World War II
  • Catholicism
  • Cultural clash
  • Film analysis
  • Religious perspectives
  • Vignettes

Keywords

  • Paisan
  • Roberto Rossellini
  • World War II
  • Catholic chaplain
  • Italian monks
  • cultural clash
  • film analysis

Sponsors

Catholic Culture

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Franciscan monastery

Books & works: Paisan

Places: Sicily, Naples, Rome, Florence, Romagna, Po Delta

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