In a world where traditional values and beliefs are on the brink of bankruptcy, materialism and the rule of science in the Western world are battering at the bastions of Christianity, who can the ordinary person turn to for spiritual and moral guidance? Who can inspire a vision that will unite rather than divide humanity? Such a man comes to light in an isolated village in southern Ireland. He is a man of humble origins, with no ambition, except to heal.
Pat has, what he calls, a ‘naif’ vision of the world, and it is this vision, along with his ‘miraculous’ cures, sparks popular imagination. A documentary about the country healer launches the ‘simple savant’ into the limelight. Soon, he achieves near iconic status. He begins to acquire a ‘following,’ and a spiritual movement begins to form in his name in time.
Pat comes into conflict with the Catholic Church in Ireland. His appeal to the masses is seen as a threat. Pat, however, never rejects the church, though he prefers to sit outside during mass. His mother, too, is a devout Catholic. When it becomes apparent that Pat is becoming a global phenomenon, the church tries to lure him back into the fold.
