Pontiff likes Hollywood Pope Leo XIV reveals his five absolute favorite films
Hollywood meets the Vatican: At a special audience this weekend, Pope Leo XIV will meet Cate Blanchett and Viggo Mortensen, among others. The 70-year-old revealed in advance which films are his favorites.
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- Film meets church: Pope Leo XIV will speak with actresses Cate Blanchett and Monica Bellucci, among others, at a special audience.
- Shortly before the meeting, the US-born Pope revealed his five favorite films.
- What stands out? Four productions are Hollywood films.
Pope Leo XIV has invited three dozen representatives of the film industry to a special audience at the Vatican today, Saturday.
Among the international film stars who will meet the head of the Catholic Church are Monica Bellucci, Cate Blanchett, Emir Kusturica and Chris Pine. Spike Lee, Alison Brie and Gus Van Sant will also be there.
Such audiences for artists also took place during the term of office of his predecessor Francis. Just a few days ago, Leo received Hollywood star Robert De Niro.
The Pope likes a Christmas classic
In the run-up to Saturday's meeting with cinema stars, the pontiff has now revealed his favorite films. What stands out? They are almost all Hollywood productions.
The head of the Catholic Church named the Christmas classic "Isn't Life Beautiful?" (1946) with James Stewart, the film adaptation of the musical "The Sound of Music" (in German: "Meine Lieder - meine Träume", 1965) and "Eine ganz normale Familie" (1980) by the recently deceased US actor Robert Redford.
The only non-American film on the papal list is "Life is Beautiful" (1997), for which the Italian director Roberto Benigni was awarded an Oscar.
Pope Leo wants to "deepen the dialog with the world of cinema"
The invitation for the papal cinema audience states that Leo wants to "deepen the dialog with the world of cinema - especially with actors and directors - and explore the possibilities that artistic creativity offers for the mission of the Church and the promotion of human values".
The artists' meeting is organized by the Vatican's Dicastery for Culture as part of the Holy Year.
The 70-year-old is the first pontiff in the history of the Catholic Church to come from the United States. There are 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide.
