Francesca Scorsese directs an episode of her father Martin Scorsese's Fox Nation series "The Saints" about the first millennial saint, Carlo Acutis. She was even able to cast her own dog, Oscar, in the film as Carlo's pet.
Francesca Scorsese

NEW YORK – Francesca Scorsese is no stranger to directing her dad, legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Typically, that takes place in her parents' living room at the holidays or in her viral TikTok videos.

"I always get the tree for my parents, and then I decorate it and they just hang out," Scorsese, 26, tells USA TODAY before joking that she usually has to force her dad, 83, to put a few ornaments up as well. But "he loves" the tradition, she adds. It's one custom in the Scorsese household that has held through the years.

"My mom has pretty severe Parkinson's at this point, so it's sort of reached a different type of celebration," she says of her mother, Helen Morris. "It's a lot shorter, a lot calmer, less of a big thing, but it's still really beautiful, and I love to be able to spend as much time as possible with both my parents. It's very rare but very special."

Scorsese was able to spend some extra time with her father this year. The filmmaker and actress ("Fish Out of Water," "We Are Who We Are") directed an episode of "Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints" (streaming now on Fox Nation), a series that looks at celebrated Catholic figures. Scorsese's episode focuses on Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint. The teen died of leukemia in 2006 and was canonized in September. He's remembered for using digital media to promote his Catholic faith.

"This was based on a real person and a real person's life, and so I felt a huge amount of responsibility going into it," Scorsese says of how this differed from past projects, acknowledging she felt "really anxious. I wanted to be as respectful as possible and as truthful as possible."

Another unusual facet of Acutis' story is that his body is on display in Assisi, Italy, where he vacationed with his family. His body was exhumed about 12 years after his death. While normal decomposition had occurred, all of his organs were intact. Acutis' face and hands were reconstructed with silicone. The saint is casually dressed, and his tomb is livestreamed 24 hours a day.

Scorsese visited the body, calling the experience "unreal."

"It's quite eerie seeing him," she says. "I mean, it looks like just a kid sleeping. He was wearing a track suit and sneakers. I was so emotional when I left."

Scorsese reveals there was a "dilemma" with the crew about filming Acutis' body. Ultimately, she decided against it as "it didn't feel right."

Another curveball came when Acutis' canonization, the process by which the church officially declares a saint, was delayed by the death of Pope Francis. Scorsese attended the funeral with her father.

"I've never experienced anything quite like that," she says. "It was really beautiful, very moving. I'd met the pope; my dad was a good friend of his, which is bizarre to say, but I met him a few times and he was a lovely guy."

Scorsese's father hosts and narrates "The Saints." She immediately laughs when asked about directing her father.

"He is very involved in everything I do, but as a protective dad and very nosy," she says. "I love it."

And Martin's involvement in his daughter's work won't be waning anytime soon. Scorsese is in the middle of two projects: a documentary about her father and his parents, and a short film based on a younger version of her mother. The latter film, "Adults Only," is in pre-production; Scorsese is hoping to film in Paris.

As for the documentary, that was spurred by Scorsese's trip to Polizzi Generosa, a town where her father's ancestors are from, in the Italian metropolitan of Palermo. She has access to never-before-seen footage of Martin and his parents there in the 1990s.

"I've sort of explored that side of my family," she says of her father's background, "and now I'm going to go to my mom's side ... and be very in touch with my roots in all aspects."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Francesca Scorsese dishes on directing dad Martin in 'The Saints'

Reporting by Ralphie Aversa, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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