Los Angeles, Calif., Mar 17, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Fr. William J. Fulco, SJ, who was deeply involved in the production of “The Passion of the Christ”, got a little more than he bargained for when he agreed to translate the script into Aramaic. The film experience became a “real pilgrimage” that affirmed him in his priestly ministry.
According to a report issued by ABS-CBN Television, Mel Gibson called Fr. Fulco, while the priest was on a project in Jerusalem, and asked if he would be interested doing the Aramaic translation.
Once the translation was done, the Jesuit priest got the job of supervising the coaching of the actors in Latin. The writing team chose to use Latin over Greek “for artistic reasons,” said Fr. Fulco.
The professor of Mediterranean studies also became an adviser on archaeological, historical, theological and biblical matters and dealt with the individual religious issues of the multireligious cast.