Pope Francis, first pope to behave in a movie, believed cinema might “reawaken surprise”

Wim Wenders and Pope Francis within the documentary ‘Pope Francis: A Man of His Phrase’ (2018)
| Photograph Credit score: Common Photos

Pope Francis, beloved Latin American chief of the Roman Catholic Church, breathed his final on Easter Monday (April 21, 2025). The pope, recognized for being one of the crucial progressive pontiffs in Vatican historical past, was additionally an enormous admirer of cinema and believed that the artwork kind had the ability to “reawaken surprise.”

In 2023, the Pope addressed members of Fondazione Ente dello Spettacolo, an Italian movie basis geared toward selling Christian values in leisure. “Pricey buddies, the world troubled by conflict and so many evils wants indicators, works that encourage surprise and that reveal the wondrousness of God who by no means ceases to like his creatures and to be amazed by their magnificence,” Pope Francis stated on the assembly, as quoted by Catholic Information Company.

“In an more and more synthetic world, the place man has surrounded himself with the works of his personal arms, the good danger is to lose a way of surprise. I share this reflection with you, entrusting you with the duty to reawaken surprise,” he added.

This isn’t something stunning, on condition that Pope Francis was additionally the primary pontiff to star in a characteristic movie; he appeared in a cameo within the 2017 indie Past The Solar, directed by Graciela Rodriguez Gilio and Charlie Mainardi.

Over time, Pope Francis additionally shared a detailed affiliation with Hollywood. He famously met celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Orlando Bloom, Mark Wahlberg, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Leonardo DiCaprio, and George Clooney.

Notably, in 2023, the Pope met acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese on the Vatican. The 80-year-old cinema icon stated that the assembly impressed him to make a movie on Jesus. “I’ve responded to the Pope’s attraction to artists in the one approach I understand how: by imagining and writing a screenplay for a movie about Jesus. And I’m about to begin making it,” stated Scorsese, who was visiting Italy after the premiere of his Killers of the Flower Moon.

Talking of the late Pope’s love for the artwork kind, acclaimed filmmaker Wim Wenders’ 2018 documentary on the pontiff, titled Pope Francis: A Man of His Phrase, stays an incredible start line to know the lifetime of the late Pope.

Whereas selling the documentary, Wenders informed BBC, “The Pope has the identical presence as among the biggest film stars I’ve labored with. Nevertheless it comes from inside, from his convictions and his religion, and from his want to speak to all of us.”

“He doesn’t have it as a result of he’s filled with himself; he’s extremely modest – an actual, humble man. It’s not an act; he’s not an actor. He’s thinking about all people he meets, and in true communication,” he added.