Travolta movie films scenes at St. Michael, Fells Point

When Deacon Richard Novak found out that a funeral scene in John Travolta’s new movie about Baltimore firefighters was going to be filmed at St. Michael in Fells Point, he joked that he was available to play the part of the corpse.

Deacon Novak didn’t get that role. But he did get a part in “Ladder 49” portraying a character he knows very well: a permanent deacon.

Dressed in his diaconal robes, Deacon Novak was featured as the deacon who assists a priest at Mass and during a baptism scene. It took more than three hours to film the baptism, with camera crews completing take after take of the priest pouring water over the head of an infant while Deacon Novak’s character holds the chrism oil nearby.

“As many times as they poured water over the baby’s head, before that baby gets baptized, he’ll be able to vote,” Deacon Novak said with a laugh.

Disney film crews were on site at St. Michael from April 27 to May 2 filming the baptism and funeral scenes and a Christmas Midnight Mass scene. In addition to Deacon Novak, Father Kevin Farmer, associate director for vocations and a chaplain in the Baltimore City Fire Department, makes an appearance in the funeral scene as a fire chaplain. Pam Perc, a contemporary music minister at St. Michael, also got a shot at stardom pretending to play St. Michael’s organ during the Christmas scene.

Redemptorist Father James Gilmour, pastor of the Catholic Community of St. Michael and St. Patrick, said film scouts had photographed several Baltimore churches before settling on St. Michael. Using large helium balloons fitted with special lights, the film crews provided spectacular lighting for the church, the pastor said.

For the midnight Mass sequence, the pastor said he was particularly impressed by “gorgeous” red and white lights that illuminated the church’s ornamental organ pipes in the choir loft and hundreds of poinsettias that decorated the interior. More than 600 extras filled the pews for the Christmas scene, he said, with crews even manufacturing snow for outside shots.

Father Gilmour served as a consultant for the film, making sure that actors used proper liturgical gestures during various church scenes. Todd Aupperley, St. Michael’s maintenance director, also was a consultant who helped film crews with lighting and other needs.

“My hope would be that as people see holy or sacred actions — the gestures happening in the church during the movie — they will be reminded of God,” Father Gilmour said. “My hope would be that people’s faith would be stimulated even though it’s just a flash on the movie screen. They’ll see a beautiful church and hopefully they’ll be reminded that God is in their lives.”

The pastor said the filming could not have come at a better time. The stipend the parish will receive from the production company will be used to pay for about a quarter of the costs of installing two much-needed handicapped accessible restrooms in the church vestibule, he said. The church will also keep all those artificial poinsettias.

With star-watchers camped outside the church to catch a glimpse of Mr. Travolta, Father Gilmour siad filmmakers slipped their leading man out the side of the church, with the star slumped down in the back of his SUV so he wouldn’t get mobbed.

“He was a very, very friendly guy,” said Deacon Novak, who had a chance to talk to Mr. Travolta and get his autograph. “The only time they asked us not to talk to him was when he had to get ready to say an emotional eulogy. He needed time by himself.”

Father Farmer said he used some of the downtime between takes to minister. He answered questions about the Catholic Church from a fallen-away Catholic and an Episcopalian interested in converting, he said.

Father Gilmour said several of the extras who were Catholic were overwhelmed by the beauty of St. Michael and were interested in attending Mass there. The pastor is anxious to see if more people might want to join the parish after the film is released.

Deacon Novak added that it was exciting to be part of a major film production.

“But I’m not giving up the diaconate to become an actor,” he said.

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

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