When you hear the name St. Francis, what immediately springs to mind? For many, it’s his legendary love for animals and nature. But EWTN’s new docudrama, His Body and Blood: Franciscan Saints on the Eucharist, reveals a deeper, often-overlooked passion: St. Francis’ profound love for the Eucharist.

This compelling docudrama (airing 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 21, and again at 2 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 22) traces that devotion through the lives of Franciscan saints who followed in the footsteps of this beloved saint. (To see all of the programs EWTN is televising in honor of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, click here.)

Father Joseph Mary of the Franciscan Friars of the Eternal Word explains that St. Francis “spoke more about … what he called the Holy Body and Blood of the Lord than anything else.” His reverence was so palpable that he would invite people to kneel outside churches where the Eucharist was reserved.

St. Francis always used the more descriptive phrase “the Body and Blood of Christ” rather than the “Eucharist.”

Why did St. Francis often address his words to priests? “Because it is through his [the priest’s] holiness that God descends to earth,” says Father Joseph Mary in discussing St. Francis’ beliefs. “Just like He [Jesus] once descended into Mary’s womb, He now descends into the priest’s hands on the altar. Francis views the Eucharist as a prolongation of the Incarnation!”

Francis’ own prayer brings this theology to life: “Let everyone be struck with fear, let the world tremble, and let the heavens exalt. Christ, the Son of the living God, is present on the altar in the hands of a priest.”

St. Francis taught that Our Lord’s Presence on the altar is how Christ fulfills his promise at the end of Matthew’s Gospel: “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the world.”

These are just a few highlights from the story of St. Francis. The film then seamlessly moves on to St. Clare of Assisi. One powerful scene recounts how her unwavering faith in the Eucharist protected the nuns in her monastery from soldiers who had breached its walls.

Though Clare wrote little, her advice to her novices applies to all of us when receiving Communion: “Think about who God is, who Jesus is in the Eucharist, and then open your hearts.”

St. Padre Pio takes up the importance of establishing a relationship with Jesus, who lamented the indifference of his ministers, telling the saint: “My son, do not think that my agony lasted three hours. No, on account of the souls who have received most from me [priests], I shall be in agony until the end of the world. During my agony, my son, nobody should sleep. My soul goes in search of a drop of human compassion. But alas, I am left alone beneath the weight of indifference. The ingratitude and sleepiness of my ministers makes my agony all the more grievous. … I shall be in agony until the end of the world. ... My soul goes in search of a drop of human compassion. But alas, I am left alone beneath the weight of indifference.”

These saints are not alone in their Eucharistic zeal. This film explores Eucharistic miracles like those of Lanciano and Siena and delves into the story of Pascal Baylon, a lesser-known Franciscan who risked his life to defend the truth of the Real Presence. Bloodied and hunched over, his defense of the Eucharist, in the face of a Protestant mob, is something all Catholics will want to memorize.

Other Franciscan figures like St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Margaret of Cortona, St. John Vianney, St. Joseph of Cupertino and Pope St. Pius X are also mentioned. And fittingly, the story circles back to St. Clare — this time through Pope Pius XII, who named her the patron saint of television. Why?

On her final Christmas, too sick to attend midnight Mass, Clare was granted a miraculous vision of the liturgy from her bed. Her biographer called it “the first televised Mass.”

St. Clare’s mission was to bring Christ and his Church to the masses. Says Father Joseph: “And that’s what we strive to do at EWTN!”

Michelle Laque Johnson is director of communications at the EWTN Global Catholic Network and author of Walking the Way of the Cross for Caregivers; this is a shortened adaptation from the “EWTN Wings” weekly programming email. To have info about EWTN shows and specials sent directly to your inbox, sign up at EWTN.com/wings.