All In: Miracle at St. Bernard’s is a film by Gregg Backer & Evan Kanew, releasing on VOD December 13th! This was such a heartwarming film that speaks to the value of high school athletes, faith and community support. 2018 was a winning season at St Bernard’s in Fitchburg, Massachusetts despite rumors that their school is in dire financial crisis and in jeopardy of closing down for good after serving their community for multiple generations.
I went to Catholic school from grades 1-9. It was small and survived off dioceses support. If less families come to church and donate, the funds are hard to supplement. It is hard to support a financially failing school and St Bernard’s had to get very creative in only 1 year to try and save their school.
I couldn’t imagine my school closing back when I attended Catholic school myself. We were all close- we were small classes and we learned and prayed together as well as saw each other in mass on the weekends. Shutting down a Catholic school is like splitting families up. It is the saddest phenomenon that seems plaguing across the country. The neighboring school, who they played in the 2018 championship game, sent letters to families informing them of their closure. St Bernard’s would be the single Catholic school left in the area unless they also fail to raise funds. Then an idea hit….
The synopsis of All In: Miracle at St. Bernard’s is about faith, family and football. This documentary chronicles a tiny, 100-year-old Catholic school in Fitchburg, Massachusetts struggling with insolvency
yet defying the odds at a time when the Church was shuttering similar institutions nationwide.
It’s the underdog story of a working-class community and the state’s smallest football program rallying in pursuit of an impossible goal: to save their school from closure by the Church.
The Bernardians faithful needed a miracle. So they set about creating one. All In follows the
dramatic campaigns to raise money and enrollment as well as a magical football season
that together saved a beloved institution.
Watch All In: Miracle at St. Bernard’s on VOD (Video On Demand) channels. Amazon link to watch!
