Pope Leo XIV shares his favourite movies ahead of Vatican special audience with Hollywood stars

Pope Leo XIV is set to host a Hollywood gathering at the Vatican on Saturday.

Among the high-profile names from across the film and TV industry attending are Spike Lee, Cate Blanchett, Viggo Mortensen, Chris Pine, Monica Bellucci, Wang Bing, George Miller, Marco Bellocchio, Gus Van Sant and Abel Ferrara.

In a statement, the Vatican said Pope Leo XIV aims to “deepen dialogue with the World of Cinema, and in particular with actors and directors” to explore “the possibilities that artistic creativity offers to the mission of the Church and the promotion of human values.”

Ahead of the special audience at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, the Chicago-born pontiff - who is the first pope from the US - shared four of his favourite films.

Those titles are: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) by Frank Capra; The Sound of Music (1965) by Robert Wise; Ordinary People (1980) by Robert Redford; and Life Is Beautiful (1997) by Roberto Benigni.

Even if we would have loved to see a more surprising inclusion in there (The Exorcist could have been a nice shout, or even Mad Max: Fury Road, considering George Miller will be in attendance on Saturday), the uplifting classics are hard to argue against.

That said, given the Catholic Church’s deeply inconsistent historic relationship with the Nazi regime and inaction during the Holocaust (including taking a position of neutrality and impartiality as 6 million Jews and millions of others were slaughtered), both The Sound of Music and Life Is Beautiful can seem like bizarre inclusions.

Still, who doesn't love It’s a Wonderful Life?

This weekend’s event seems like a positive signal that Pope Leo XIV is keen to cultivate a close rapport with the arts, and this is not the first time that the pontiff has met with Hollywood celebrities.

Earlier this July, Al Pacino stopped by the Vatican, alongside Andrea Iervolino, the Italian producer behind Maserati: The Brothers, a biopic on Italy’s legendary Maserati family that stars Pacino, Anthony Hopkins, and Andy Garcia.

Iervolino described the meeting as a moment of “profound spiritual and cultural inspiration, centered around shared values that lie at the heart of both the Catholic Church and the film: family unity, love, compassion, and the importance of contributing to the common good.”

Pope Leo XIV also met with Robert De Niro last week. De Niro was in Rome being awarded the Lupa Capitolina, the city’s top honour.

The yearlong Roman Catholic Church Jubilee, a rare Catholic tradition of penance and forgiveness, began last December and will end in early January 2026.