That They May Be One

That They May Be One is a 76-minute Catholic docudrama directed by Dan Johnson that traces what the filmmakers present as the Holy Spirit's providential work across more than a century of Christian history, framed by Jesus' prayer for unity in John 17:21. The film opens with a dramatic reenactment of Pentecost from the Book of Acts, establishing the Holy Spirit as the animating force behind the narrative. It then turns to Blessed Elena Guerra, an Italian Ursuline nun who in the late 19th century began writing urgent letters to Pope Leo XIII urging renewed devotion to the Holy Spirit. Those letters contributed to Leo XIII's 1897 encyclical on the Holy Spirit and his 1901 consecration of the twentieth century to the Holy Spirit. The film then draws a striking chronological parallel: on January 1, 1901 — the very day the pope's consecration took effect — Agnes Ozman experienced what she and her community in Topeka, Kansas (at a location called Stone's Folly) described as a 'baptism of the Holy Spirit,' widely regarded as the inception of the modern Pentecostal movement. The narrative continues to the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles (1906–1915), led by William J. Seymour, which the film characterizes as the catalyst for the global Pentecostal movement. Decades later, the same spiritual current reaches the Catholic Church through the 1967 charismatic renewal at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. The film also documents ecumenical milestones — the 1965 lifting of the mutual excommunications between Rome and Constantinople, a 1977 interdenominational gathering of fifty thousand Christians at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, and the 1999 Joint Declaration on Justification between Catholics and Lutherans. Throughout, interviews with Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, Protestant pastor Francis Chan, biblical scholar Mary Healy, Pentecostal leader Randy Clark, and others weave personal testimony alongside the historical account. Executive producer Adriana Gonzalez shares her own encounter with a cross-denominational prayer group as a personal illustration of the film's thesis. The documentary closes as an invitation: the Holy Spirit, it argues, has been quietly answering Christ's prayer across denominational lines, and the Church is called to respond with renewed prayer, repentance, and pursuit of unity. No Wikipedia article exists for this film; no IMDb plot summaries were accessible. Content is synthesized from the official film website, Fathom Events press materials, and published reviews.

Sources: Official film website (thattheymaybeonefilm.com), Fathom Entertainment press release, Word on Fire article, Catholic World Report review, Catholic Exchange article, Movieguide review