Archdiocese Office Of New Evangelization Invites Angelinos To "Prayer And A Movie" For The Upcoming Theatrical Release Of SON OF GOD

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Office of New Evangelization for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is using the upcoming feature film SON OF GOD as an evangelization tool to help spread the message of Jesus Christ. The Archdiocese is offering special "Prayer and A Movie" showings of SON OF GOD, presented in Spanish in select theaters. Those attending will experience a brief spiritual reflection and prayer from a representative of the Office of New Evangelization for the Archdiocese. The event will conclude with a showing of the full length feature film dubbed in Spanish by well-known Hispanic actors. "SON OF GOD gives us the opportunity to be more aware of God's presence in our lives," said the Archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose H. Gomez.  "And it is wonderful that we have the opportunity to have this movie now, at this time."

The timing could not be more perfect, Pope Francis having been recently featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine, and Newsweek highlighting an image of Jesus Christ on its cover. Faith is more ubiquitous and mainstream now than it has been in recent memory: And the Hispanic market is at the core of this movement. "It has always been important for us to share the story of Jesus with as wide an audience as possible.  While 100 million U.S. viewers saw THE BIBLE on television, we always knew that there is a large, very important part of the audience who were not able to enjoy it because of the language barrier," said producer Mark Burnett. "That's why we made SON OF GOD in Spanish."

Radio personality Silvia Pinal, better known by her radio name La Socia, is excited about the screenings and is urging her listeners to join her even if they have not been to church recently. "The family is the essence of love, unity, and growth. Our faith will remain in our hearts together with the Son of God," said Pinal. Her station, La Que Buena, will be giving away passes to these Spanish showings and is encouraging its listeners, a significant percentage of which is considered to be of some religious faith, to find theaters playing the Spanish version. LBI Media which owns La Que Buena is also giving away passes via its television station, Estrella TV. Viewers of Estrella TV and listeners of KBUE-FM will be encouraged to call in or text to win "Prayer and A Movie" passes this week.

The unprecedented Spanish language release of SON OF GOD features the voices of these popular Latino actors: Eduardo Verastegui ("Bella," "For Greater Glory") as Jesus; Blanca Soto ("Porque El Amor Manda," "Eva Luna") as Mary Magdalene; Jacqueline Bracamontes (host of "La Voz Mexico" "Sortilegio") as Martha; Karyme Lozano ("For Greater Glory," "Quiero Amarte") as Claudia; Giovanna Acha ("Beverly Hills Chihuahua") as Young Mary;  Latin Grammy Award winner Alexander Acha as Joseph; Adal Ramones ("Saving Private Perez," "Bailando por un Sueno") as Simon; Carlos Ponce ("Rio," "Couples Retreat") as Thomas and Academy Award® nominated Adriana Barraza ("Babel") as Mother Mary.  Verastegui also serves as Executive Producer of the Spanish language version of the film.

The Spanish version of the film will be available only through group sales and in select markets across the US.  To purchase group sales tickets in English or Spanish call (800) 970-1858 or email [email protected].                                      

ABOUT SON OF GOD
SON OF GOD will be released in theaters nationwide on February 28, 2014. This major motion picture event -- an experience created to be shared among families and communities across the U.S. -- brings the story of the life of Jesus to audiences through compelling cinematic storytelling that is both powerful and inspirational.

Producer and Actress Roma Downey (Touched by an Angel, The Bible) and Producer Mark Burnett (The Voice, Survivor, Shark Tank, The Bible) brought the epic miniseries "The Bible" to television audiences around the world with their company LightWorkers Media.  The series became the number one cable entertainment telecast of the year, one of the fastest-selling TV-to-disc titles ever and went on to garner 3 Emmy® Award nominations.  Mixing adventure, action and drama from The Bible, the series drew acclaim for retelling the sacred text in a way that was relevant to today's audiences.

Now, the larger-than-life story of Jesus gets a larger-than-life treatment in the stand-alone feature SON OF GOD.  Told with the scope and scale of an action epic, the film features powerful performances, exotic locales, dazzling visual effects and a rich orchestral score from Oscar®-winner Hans Zimmer.  Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado beautifully portrays the role of Jesus as the film spans from his humble birth through his teachings, crucifixion and ultimate resurrection.  This movie has been able to bring leaders together with support from across all denominations.  The producers focused from the very beginning on creating an experience that would be shared by all.

ABOUT TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
One of the world¹s largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, 20th Century Fox produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of 20th Century Fox Film: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox International Productions, and Twentieth Century Fox Animation.

ABOUT LIGHTWORKERS MEDIA
Celebrated Emmy-nominated actress and producer Roma Downey and her award winning husband producer Mark Burnett launched LightWorkers Media in 2011 with the children's DVD and book series "Little Angels" and its companion "Little Angels Storybook Bible".  LightWorkers Media produced the ten-hour hit miniseries THE BIBLE which was seen in the USA by 100 million people, was one of the fastest selling TV-to-Disc titles ever and was nominated for three Emmy awards. Additionally they are producing the series "AD ", a sequel to The Bible series for NBC and they recently acquired Alice Hoffman's award winning novel The Dovekeepers.  LightWorkers Media is dedicated to shining a light and bringing uplifting content to people of all ages.

ABOUT THE ARCHDIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is the largest Catholic Archdiocese in the United States with more than five million Catholics. The diocese was established in 1840, and was created an archbishopric in 1936. Archbishop Jose H. Gomez is the fifth Archbishop of Los Angeles. There are a total of 287 parishes located in 120 cities throughout the Archdiocese.

LIBERMAN BROADCASTING, INC.
Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. is a leading Spanish-language entertainment company and one of the largest Spanish-language radio and television broadcasters in the United States, based on revenues and number of stations.  The Company owns 21 radio stations (fifteen FM and six AM) and nine television stations in greater Los Angeles, CA, Chicago, IL, Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX, Denver, CO, Houston, TX, New York, NY, Phoenix, AZ,

Salt Lake City, UT, and San Diego, CA. The Company also owns Estrella TV, a leading Spanish-language national television broadcast network in the United States.  The Company also owns four television production facilities that it uses to produce its core television programming.  The Estrella TV Network can now be seen in over 90 markets across the United States.  For more information, visit http://www.lbimedia.com.

SOURCE Archdiocese of Los Angeles; LBI Media