***SPOILERS*** A bit confusing movie involving this secret Gospel that's purported to be the only words written by Jesus himself! It's this Gospel, if ever made public, that will shake the very foundations of the Catholic Church!
Father Andrew Kierran, Gabriel Byrne, had investigated this weeping Madonna at the small Brazilian Catholic Church, in Belo Quinto, and was told by his superiors in the Vatican to drop the case even though he, a scientist by profession, thought that it was a genuine case of the paranormal or a miracle by church standers. It's later in the movie that Father Andrew is assigned to this case of "Stigmata" in of all places Pittsburgh Pa. involving this 23 year old hair dresser Frankie Paige, Patricia Arguette, who's not Catholic or even religious! What Father Andrew finds out is that the two cases, the one in Belo Quinto and that of Frankie's, are in fact related! Related by a string of rosary beads!
The movie "Stigmata" slowly builds up to its shocking and fiery climax when Father Andrews begins to question the actions of his superior Cardinal Houseman, Jonathan Pryce, who first authorized the investigation of Frankie Paige. Houseman is using both Father Andrew and his fellow priests to squelch what Frankie's "Stigmata" really is all about. The mysterious rosary beads originally belonged to the excommunicated and late Father Alameida, Jack Donner, of the Belo Quinto Catholic Church! By Frankie getting possession of the beads, through a gift from her mother, she has become as much as a threat to the Cardinal and the church he represents as Father Alameida was!
Despite a number of wild and gory scenes of Frankie's hands and legs bursting out into streams of blood signifying Jesus' suffering on the cross we, and Father Andrew, never really quite get what's going on in the movie! That's until the also, like Father Alameida, excommunicated Father Petrocelli, Rade Serbedzija, unexpectedly shows up at almost the very end of the film. With what seems like no kind of introduction, I only got his name from checking out the movie's credits, to just who he is all Father Petrocelli shows Father Andrews to convince him that his fantastic story is legit is a well worn out old photo of himself. The photo has Petrocelli as well as Father Alameida and Father Delmonico,Dick Latessa posing in it. It's with that photo that Father Petrocelli convinces Father Andrew that his boss Cardinal Houseman isn't exactly, without really explaining why, on the up and up.
Now having all the evidence to put Houseman up before a court of inquiry at the Vatican in his attempt of squelching the Gospel of Jesus Father Andrew has to prevent him from going even a step farther! That's in stopping the Cardinal, in a phony exorcism, from silencing the one person who can expose him, Frankie Paige, by murdering her!
