The Man without a Face

Years ago a hardworking man took his family from New York State to Australia to take advantage of a work opportunity there. Part of this man's family was a handsome son who had aspirations of joining the circus as a trapeze artist or an actor. This young fellow, biding his time until a circus job or even as a stagehand came along, worked at the local shipyards which bordered on the worse section of town.

Walking home from work one evening, this young man was attacked by
five thugs who wanted to rob him. Instead of just giving up his money
the young fellow resisted. However they bested him easily and
proceeded to beat him To a pulp.

They mashed his face with their boots, and kicked and beat his body Brutally with clubs, leaving him for dead. When the police happened to find him Lying in the road they assumed he was dead and called for the Morgue Wagon.

On the way to the morgue, a policeman heard him gasp for air, and they
immediately took him to the emergency unit at the hospital.

When he was placed on a gurney, a nurse remarked to her horror, that
this young man no longer had a face. His eye socket was smashed, his
skull, legs and arms fractured, his nose literally hanging from his face, all his Teeth were gone, and his jaw was almost completely torn from his skull.

Although his life was spared, he spent over a year in the hospital.
When he finally left, his body may have healed but his face was disgusting to
look at. He was no longer the handsome youth that everyone admired.
When the young man started to look for work again, he was turned down
by everyone just on account of the way he looked. One potential
employer suggested to him that he join the freak show at the circus as
“The man who had no face.”
And he did this for a while. He was still rejected by everyone and no
one wanted to be seen in his company. He had thoughts of suicide. This
went on for 5 years.

One day he passed a church and sought some solace there. Entering the
church he encountered a priest who had seen him sobbing while kneeling
in a pew. The priest took pity on him and took him to the rectory where
they talked at length. The priest was impressed with him to such a
degree that he said that he would do everything possible for him that could be done
to restore his dignity and life, if the young man would promise to be
the best Catholic he could be, and trust in God's mercy to free him from his
torturous life.

The young man went to Mass and Communion every day, and after thanking
God for saving his life, asked God to only give him peace of mind and
the grace to be the best man he could ever be in His eyes.

The priest, through his personal contacts was able to secure the
services Of the best plastic surgeon in Australia. There would be no cost to the young man, as the doctor was the priest's best friend. The doctor too was so impressed by the young man, whose outlook now on
life, even though he had experienced the worst, was filled with good humor and
love.

The surgery was a miraculous success. All th e best dental work was
also done for him. The young man became everything he promised God he would be.

He was also blessed with a wonderful, beautiful wife, and many
children, and success in an industry, which would have been the furthest thing from his mind as a career, if not for the goodness
of God and the love of the people who cared for him. This he acknowledges publicly.

The young man was and is…….Mel Gibson.

His life was the inspiration for his production of the movie “The Man
Without A Face.”