'With This Light' profiles a nun's justice work

There's nothing remarkable about this biodoc of nun. But there is something remarkable about the nun herself, Sister Maria Rosa Leggol, a Franciscan known as the Mother Theresa of Central America. She holds a crucifix like a knife, ready to stab hesitant hearts. She is credited with helping more than 67,000 children escape from poverty in Honduras.

She never slammed the door on children, especially young women. "Work like this is not a game," she advises a girl. "Do not repeat the past," she exhorts, over and over. Forging beyond "thoughts and prayers," Sister established schools, among them the Reyes Irene School for Girls, where the students wear rose-colored uniforms. She opened her first orphanage in 1964 and built more than 500 homes across Latin America for girls, providing succor away from the danger of being uneducated, abandoned or raped, prey to the machismo culture. They live together with an "auntie," a "tia."

Sister Maria Rosa rather gleefully declares that she is not obedient despite her vows. "I'm not afraid of anything," she brags (she is often protected by bodyguards, however). When a rival rescue group offers her money to merge, she declares, knowing  that money rules, "You keep your money, I'll keep my children."

"With This Light" not only tells the story of this virtuous woman but also that of two girls she rescues and of their distraught mothers. Maria de los Angeles has fallen for Alfredo, a boy with violence in his heart. Rosa Posada, diligent and dedicated, works her way to university.

Perhaps these girls' understories came from the fact that "With This Light" was directed by a brace of women: Nicole Bernardi-Reis and Laura Bermúdez. Their production team comprised all women. The Latin Grammy-winning artist, Carla Morrison, performs an original song, The film won Best Documentary Feature at the Austin Film Festival and has been selected to be shown at the St. Louis International Film Festival. 

Sr. Maria Rosa died at 93 of Covid in 2020. Her funeral ends the film. After the last scene runs a long list of her projects from the past 70 years. Echoing throughout is her manifesto: "My path is to open paths so others may walk."

"With This Light" is a tale of fierce goodness personified -- always welcome.