Love God's Will premiered on March 2nd, 2024 at the Regal theater in Tomball, Texas to Fr. Ryan's family, many friends that were in the film, the actor who portrayed Fr. Ryan in the reenactments, and many parishioners of Fr. Ryan's from Prince of Peace. It was a sold out crowd!
Watch the video of us preparing to bring Love God's Will to theaters:
Everyone was so excited, and things were going smoothly...
Then, 15 minutes into the film, just as Fr. Ryan begins talking about his vocation to the priesthood, the power to the whole theater shut down!
The Stawaisz family generously gave Mauricio, the actor who portrayed Fr. Ryan, the basketball warmup Fr. Ryan wore as a seminarian for the Priests vs Seminarians Basketball Game. Mauricio volunteered his time and talent on multiple shoots to help re-enact some stories shared about Fr. Ryan's life.
The power came back on for the second showing scheduled that day. We were so blessed by generous hosts excited to bring the film back to that theater. We encouraged everyone from the first screening to use a free ticket at a new showtime. In addition to many other locations, we've had 24 showtimes scheduled at that Regal in Tomball!
The premiere week continued when we shared the film at the Edwards Greenway in Houston. We were able to show the film here thanks to the generosity of the Scanlan Foundation.
It's been wonderful to share Fr. Ryan's story and his example of love. We're so grateful for the support of the Stawaisz family and that they have come to every theater screening to help share Fr. Ryan's legacy.
We're also especially grateful to Gaby, Fr. Ryan's sister-in-law, who agreed to be our screening coordinator! She compiled a comprehensive list of information on how to host a theater screening. She also corresponds with theaters and hosts to arrange the screening events in the Houston area.
Watch the video of Fr. Richard's invitation to come see the film:
The next weeks were filled with screenings in all over the greater Houston area, and we were able to share the film near all of the parishes Fr. Ryan served as either a seminarian, deacon, or priest. Each of these communities was inspired to see the journey of their friend, a priest they loved.
Our team has also been touched by the number of people who never met Fr. Ryan that have told us they've been greatly impacted by the film.
When we began plans to share the film in theaters, it was our dream to have 10 screenings during the Lenten season. We had 25 theater screenings of the film during Lent. At the time of writing this article, we have 26 more theater screenings scheduled and more people interested in hosting every day! We are so blessed by the generosity of hosts bringing the film to theaters. We see the impact it's having on audiences.
Watch our audience reaction video:
Thank you so much to everyone who has come to see the film! The entire experience has been a beautiful blessing for our team, and we can't wait to see where the Holy Spirit and Fr. Ryan take us next!
Learn more about how to host a screening at a theater near you here
Photos courtesy of Matthew Pena, April Light, and Kyle Smith.