(OSV News) — A new documentary from Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, promises to take viewers on a journey through the gothic cathedrals of France. The film, which hits theaters Sept. 20, opens with the 2019 fire that engulfed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
“This film was designed to answer a basic question, namely, why was the entire world so galvanized by the Notre Dame fire? What was it about the possible loss of that building that sparked a universal anxiety?” Bishop Barron, founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, a global media apostolate, told OSV News about his documentary, “Heaven in Stone and Glass.”
“My instinct,” he added, “was that people sensed the spiritual power of Notre Dame, and the documentary was designed to test that instinct.”
Produced by Word on Fire in collaboration with Spirit Juice Studios, the documentary focuses on five of France’s most iconic gothic cathedrals: Chartres, Notre Dame, Reims, Amiens and Saint-Denis.
Bishop Barron, together with Father Steve Grunow, the CEO of Word on Fire, and Branden Stanley, the chief creative officer at Spirit Juice Studios, spoke about the 90-minute film and their involvement in it ahead of its debut in theaters nationwide Sept. 20 and 23.
The film — Word on Fire’s first theatrical release — comes days before Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France. Father Grunow, an executive producer for the film, told OSV News that he considered the timing providential.
In the documentary, Bishop Barron walks with audiences through the gothic cathedrals of France with a sense of wonder and enthusiasm. He delves into the purpose of cathedrals as well as their history, architecture, Scripture and theology. He examines their symbolism and designs, including features like the rose window. He also reveals his own personal relationship with the gothic cathedrals of France.
“They deepened my biblical sensibility; they convinced me that beauty is a route of access to God; they led me to more fervent prayer; they made me a more effective evangelist,” Bishop Barron, who serves as the writer, presenter and an executive producer for the documentary, told OSV News.
A journey to France
At Spirit Juice Studios, Stanley, an executive producer and director for the documentary, said that his team spent around 45 days total filming the documentary during four separate trips that took place from 2024 to 2025.
“We wanted to experience and photograph the cathedrals across all four seasons, but we also wanted to capture different liturgical seasons,” he told OSV News. “These aren’t museums or monuments to a faith that disappeared centuries ago. They’re living, breathing places of worship.”
He wanted viewers to experience these cathedrals for themselves as much as possible.
“One of our biggest priorities was trying to give the audience a perspective and experience that felt as close as possible to actually being inside these spaces,” Stanley said of trying to capture the cathedrals’ beauty and grandeur on camera. “That affected everything from how we moved the camera to the lenses and accessories we chose.”
“These cathedrals were designed to affect you through height, light, color, proportion, detail and craftsmanship,” he added. “Our challenge was to use the tools of filmmaking to communicate some of that experience, knowing that a camera can never completely replicate what it feels like to stand there yourself.”
An emphasis on beauty
Throughout the documentary, the camera focuses on the splendor of the gothic cathedrals in a way that illustrates Bishop Barron’s words. Shots transform from showing an entire cathedral all at once to focusing on minute details with designs like the wheel of fortune. At one point in the documentary, Bishop Barron talks about the idea of beauty halting people in their tracks and sending them on mission.
“The great Cathedrals draw us into the mystical space of Christ; they conform us to his mind, his will, his purpose,” he told OSV News. “And then they send us out to tell the world what we have experienced.”
The film, like other Word on Fire offerings such as the “Catholicism” series, embraces beauty, Father Grunow said.
“This new film displays one of the fundamental orientations of the Bishop Barron’s apostolate which is to lead with beauty,” he told OSV News. “The beauty of the Cathedrals acts as a lure towards Christ, and beauty should be a priority in the Church’s evangelization and missionary efforts.”
A universal message
For Stanley, filming the cathedrals and their beauty impacted him and his faith.
“While we have the privilege of filming in beautiful places all the time, I can’t particularly say that I’ve ever filmed anywhere quite as beautiful as the Gothic cathedrals of France,” he said. “For someone whose job is, in many ways, to find and capture beauty wherever we can, that was particularly impactful.”
“I’ve always had a deep love for the richness of our liturgy and our faith, but spending so much time inside these cathedrals brought that to another level,” he added later. “There is an incredible amount of symbolism and intentionality in every detail. You begin to realize that virtually nothing is there by accident. The architecture itself is constantly communicating something about God and about our relationship with him.”
These enduring gothic cathedrals speak of God to everyone, whether they are Catholic or not, Bishop Barron said.
“I hope that people come away from this documentary newly convinced that God matters enormously, that they cannot find true happiness apart from him,” he said at one point. “I hope that the stunning beauty of the Cathedrals becomes a vehicle for conveying that truth.”
Katie Yoder is an OSV News correspondent. She writes from Maryland.
