Pope Francis, who passed away at 88 on the Monday following Easter, held a deep and longstanding affection for the world of film, a passion that began during his youth in Buenos Aires.
“My appreciation for film largely comes from my parents who often took us to the movies,” the Pope remarked in a 2013 interview shortly after assuming leadership of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Pope, originally named Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was born in 1936 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to parents of Northern Italian descent. This heritage prominently influenced his early cinematic experiences, particularly Italian films.
In that same 2013 discussion, Pope Francis expressed his particular fondness for Federico Fellini’s 1954 Academy Award-winning movie La Strada. The film features Giulietta Masina as the delicate Gelsomina who suffers under the cruel Zampanò, portrayed by Anthony Quinn.
“The film resonates with me deeply as it subtly alludes to Saint Francis,” the Pope shared, connecting the movie’s themes of love and pain to the teachings of Saint Francis of Assisi, his namesake as pope.
Last May, Pope Francis recorded a heartfelt video message to commemorate the 70th anniversary of La Strada, reiterating his deep connection to the film.
“Fellini’s films, particularly La Strada, have always touched my heart. The movie starts and ends with tears and mirrors the beginning and end at the seashore. What particularly moved me was the scene involving the madman and the stone, which brings meaning to the girl’s life,” he described.
The pontiff also admired Italian neorealism, highlighting Roberto Rossellini’s 1945 war drama Rome, Open City as another impactful film from his childhood. He noted having watched all films featuring its stars, Anna Magnani and Aldo Fabrizi.
He later observed that cinema following World War Two significantly contributed to societal healing and reconciliation.
“Film is a powerful medium for unity. It played a crucial role in reconstructing societal bonds during the post-war era,” he stated during a 2019 meeting with the Catholic Cinema Operators Association.
Pope Francis frequently referenced movies to underscore spiritual or ecumenical messages.
In his 2016 document Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), he cited the 1987 Danish Oscar-winning Babette’s Feast, highlighting the main character’s joy derived from selflessly delighting others with her lavish dinner.
Other films he mentioned in his teachings include Akira Kurosawa’s Rhapsody in August, discussing the church’s views on grandparent-grandchild relationships, and Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1966 film Andrei Rublëv, about a 15th-century icon painter traumatized by war.
Film and entertainment figures often attended his papal audiences, including Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Robert Redford, Leonardo DiCaprio, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Roberto Benigni, among others, along with over 100 comedians in June 2024 such as Jimmy Fallon, Chris Rock, and Whoopi Goldberg.
As a staunch advocate for migrants, the Pope welcomed Matteo Garrone and the cast of his Oscar-nominated movie Io Capitano, which tells the story of two teenagers from Senegal embarking on a dangerous trek across the Sahara to reach Europe.
A significant cinematic relationship for the Pope was with Martin Scorsese, initiated when Scorsese screened his historical drama Silence at the Vatican, depicting Jesuit priests in Edo-period Japan.
Their meetings in 2018 and 2023 during the Pope’s Global Aesthetics of the Catholic Imagination conference inspired Scorsese to begin developing a film about the life of Jesus.
Pope Francis also integrated film and culture into the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year 2025 plans. Before his hospitalization on February 14, he was scheduled to visit Rome’s historic Cinecittà film studios on February 17, including Fellini’s favored Teatro 5, as part of the Jubilee Year festivities.
While drawing inspiration from cinema, Pope Francis’ life also inspired filmmakers, with documentaries such as Wim Wenders’ Pope Francis: A Man of His Word, Evgeny Afineevksy’s Francesco, and Gianfranco Rosi’s In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis.
In 2015, Italian director Daniele Luchetti crafted the fictionalized biopic Call Me Francis (Chiamatemi Francesco – Il Papa della gente), tracing the Pope’s journey from his Argentine youth to his papal election, with Rodrigo de la Serna portraying him as a young man.
More recently, Jonathan Pryce portrayed Pope Francis in Fernando Meirelles’s 2019 Netflix-backed bio-drama The Two Popes, which explores his intricate relationship with his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, played by Anthony Hopkins.
Netflix arranged a showing of the film for the Vatican press corps, and there were reports of a cardinal requesting a DVD for Pope Francis, though it remains unclear if he ever watched or enjoyed the film.
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