Logline: A charismatic young Irish priest assigned to an American hospital one Christmas, encounters a frail, 9-yr-old girl, who not only begs him to find her future husband, she hands him a HEAP (Happily Ever After Person) List of unusual specifications. Jealous of the Father’s popularity, a rival gets the HEAP List printed in a local tabloid. Father Wishes is banned from the hospital. That is until his nemesis, Head Nurse Barnes, performs a rescue.

Synopsis: On his first Christmas in America, Father Michael Quinn, an outgoing young Irish priest, charms the staff and patients of St. Agnes Hospital with his rare combination of wit and wisdom. Because of his ability to pull smiles from children who have little reason to give them, the pediatric nursing staff dub him “Father Wishes.”

Staying at a nearby parish, his popularity makes him the target of Brother Simon, a jealous, manipulative, and duplicitous slacker. In the guise of a friend, Brother Simon looks for every opportunity to sabotage Father Michael, even going so far as to send him crashing through a stained-glass window.

When an infirmed Irish girl, Katie O’Claire, 9, begs Father Wishes to find and deliver a message to her future husband, Brother Simon maliciously leaks the story to a local tabloid, which accuses the priest of playing matchmaker for an innocent child. With the press hounding the church, and Katie’s parents outraged, Father Michael is suspended from his duties just days before a special Christmas Eve show he’d promised the children at the hospital. Angry and disappointed, Father Michael packs up and heads home to Ireland.

Having only shown disdain for his undignified antics, it is Head Nurse Millicent Barnes who secretly comes to his rescue. But then the race is on, not only to keep Father Michael from boarding his flight, but to return him to the hospital in time to perform his Christmas Eve Spectacular. In the end, the mystery behind Katie’s sweet request comes to light, Brother Simon gets help with his destructive behavior, and to this day, Nurse Barnes denies any participation in bringing about a happy ending for all.