Leonardo Defilippis       It is a great honor for me to accept my induction as a 2005 Laureate of the Mother Teresa Awards. I feel very blessed to have been considered for an award honoring a person who touched so many people’s lives and who did such ordinary things with such extraordinary love. Leonardo Defilippis President/Director Saint Luke Productions & Luke Films Nomination: For his role in the fields of Christian Inspiration, Education and Entertainment During the six years Leonardo Defilippis spent acting in Shakespearean festivals throughout the country, he gradually grew in his desire to use his artistic gifts for the greater glory of God. In the fall of 1980, after receiving a letter from Mother Teresa of Calcutta he embarked on a spiritual journey that led him to produce live dramas, videos and films. He has spent twenty-five years as a producer, actor and theatrical director in the entertainment industry, with the sole mission to renew and evangelize culture through the dramatic and cinematic arts. He has received numerous national and international awards for his exceptional work in theater and film, including the Gold Award in the Cindy Film Festival, Worldfest Film Festival, the Silver in the Chicago Film Festival-Intercom awards for film, acting, and musical score, The New York Film Festival, The Unity Award, the Proclaim Award and the Sacred Arts Award. Defilippis’s live dramas have been seen by more than half a million people of all faiths throughout the English speaking world, and his videos that have been seen on both broadcast and cable networks include, MAXIMILIAN: SAINT OF AUSCHWITZ, JOHN OF THE CROSS, SAINT FRANCIS: TROUBADOUR OF GOD’S PEACE, and THE GOSPEL OF LUKE. Leonardo made his directorial debut with his new feature film, THÉRÈSE. “This film was the most challenging production of my career, and its exceptional cinematic quality is the result of many people’s sacrificial contributions. My vision of a lush, period production with a profound emotional impact was beautifully translated to the screen by the talented members of our cast and crew, who gave this film their whole hearts.” The future mission of Leonardo Defilippis is to establish a spiritual media company, Luke Films, and an established theater company for live dramas. He and his wife Patti have seven children and reside in the Northwest.
	MOTHER TERESA AWARDS | St. Bernadette Institute of Sacred Art | PO Box 8249 | Albuquerque, NM 87198 | USA