"If it's not high quality young people aren't going to be interested," he said. "They're used to secular media, they're used to secular TV shows, they're used to the internet. So we want to tell people's stories, but we also wanted it to be the highest quality we could so that people couldn't write the show off."
Keeping that in mind, the brothers teamed up with media professionals in the Catholic world and started fundraising. The show is owned and being produced by the Live Greater Foundation, a non-profit that was the fruit of many years of the Live Greater movement established by the Brothers even before they were both in the friary.
"There was always this movement to really take our faith and live passionately, like in John 10:10, 'I came that you might have life and have it abundantly,'" said Brother Innocent. "And that's the whole concept behind the Live Greater Foundation, as it's grown to be."
The Live Greater Foundation is also a family business: the Brothers' parents, sister Katie and brother Bob are all a part of the foundation's work, which has three main outreaches: media, charity, and family life.
Working with family, and especially as brother-Brothers, has been one of the greatest blessings of this endeavor so far, Brother Innocent added.
ICONS: So, who are the brothers? from On My Mind Productions on Vimeo.
"It's just such a gift to do this together, we've been best friends our whole life, and then having this opportunity to do this together as brothers, that's definitely a unique gift and I find myself grateful just to do that with him," he said.
With their new show, the Brothers feel they are answering their call as Franciscans and the call of Pope Francis to reach out to the peripheries and to spread the Gospel.
"We were really inspired by Fr. Benedict, our founder and hero," Brother Innocent said. "He was a father to the poor but also he had this kind of amazing gift to use evangelization and media."
"The world sees the bad news of the Catholic Church, the scandals, and young people are really formed by that," said Brother Angelus. "We want to tell the good news of young people who are living the faith, and then also, we want to create a community around 'Icons' so young people know that they belong to something, because there are other people who are living for the Lord, I'm not alone in this."
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Part of that relatability and community is going to come from telling real stories which show that the Church is not a "place for the perfect" but for those who fall but get back up, Brother Angelus explained.
They are also hoping to dispel the myth that having a relationship with Christ means begrudgingly following a list of cumbersome rules, he added.
"Sometimes young people say if they live for the Lord then they're going to have to follow all these rules and life's going to be miserable," he said. "But people who live for the Lord, especially young people, are some of the most joyful people we know, so they'll see that being Christian and being joyful and authentic and real is possible."
The "Icons" team is currently is in the midst of a fundraising campaign to raise funds for the first season and hopes to begin production late 2015. To learn more about the show, to nominate an icon, or to pledge support, visit their website at: http://iconstv.org/
Mary Farrow worked as a staff writer for Catholic News Agency until 2020. She has a degree in journalism and English education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.