The Miracle of Father Malachia - Plot

Plot

Next to a church in a prosperous German industrial town is the Eden bar, a night club and brothel. The Eden bar is a thorn in the side of the worldly innocent monk Father Malachia (Horst Bollmann), who is praying to God that he will close the bar. The prayer is heard and the building and the bar and all people inside vanish and reappear on an island in the North Sea. This apparent miracle draws the attention of the media, politicians and scientists, all trying to find rational explanations. The Catholic Church is reluctant to officially recognize this occurrence as a miracle, both fearing a loss of control in matters of faith, or a loss of face if the disappareance of the Eden bar would turn out to be a fabrication.

Meanwhile believers from all over the world pilgrimage to the former location of the bar. Soon the site becomes a fairground, with the towns people, profiteers and journalists trying to make a profit from the sudden influx of pilgrims and the miracle. This includes the sale of holy water, Malachia Stollen and miniature models of the Eden bar. A young woman, who was in the bar during the night the bar vanished, becomes a media star. Financial investors are buying the island where the Eden bar reapparead, and construct a casino that soon attracts crowds of people.

Father Malachia is confronted with interview requests by journalists, pilgrims beleaguering the church and is hoping to meet the Father Malachia. As he has spent most of his life in the monastery he feels helpless in the face of the excesses of modern society. He soon regrets that he asked God for a miracle. He travels to the island and prays for a second miracle that will end the frenzy, and is heard by God who returns the Eden bar to its original location.

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