Pope Leo welcomes Hollywood stars to the Vatican
Pope Leo has held an audience with Hollywood stars, urging actors and directors including Cate Blanchett, Viggo Mortensen, and Monica Bellucci to continue their work as “pilgrims of the imagination,” helping to “bring hope.”
The celebrity meeting was a sprinkling of star dust for the still relatively new pope and a way for the Catholic Church to engage more with the world beyond. It also demonstrated Pope Leo XIV’s support for the global film industry as he spoke out against the “troubling decline” in cinema-going.
Hailed by director Spike Lee as a “great day,” the gathering was the first of its kind in the Vatican. Beneath the frescoes of the Clementine Hall, Pope Leo spoke in Italian, praising cinema’s power to entertain, educate, and amaze. He also urged filmmakers not to shy away from addressing “the world’s wounds,” including violence, poverty, exile, loneliness, addiction, and forgotten wars.
“Good cinema does not exploit pain; it recognizes and explores it. This is what all the great directors have done,” the Pope said.
Six months after being elected the first North American pope, Leo XIV has faced comparisons with his predecessor, Francis, known for his charisma and dramatic gestures. This star-studded engagement offered a glimpse of Leo’s quieter style while connecting with the global film community.
The audience included Mortensen, Chris Pine, Gus Van Sant, Gianni Amelio, and Giuseppe Tornatore. None of the directors present made it onto the Pope’s personal top film list, which features The Sound of Music, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Roberto Benigni’s Life is Beautiful.
Pope Leo praised those working behind the scenes in film and warned against the closure of cinemas, describing them as the “beating heart of communities.” He encouraged institutions to cooperate in affirming the social and cultural value of cinema.
After a fifteen-minute speech and blessing, the Pope met each audience member individually. Blanchett gave him a woven bracelet symbolizing solidarity with displaced people, while Lee presented a New York Knicks shirt with “Pope Leo” and the number 14.
Credit: BBC
