Pope Leo XIV celebrates the power of cinema with star-studded audience

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The Vatican shared the spotlight with Hollywood connected Saturday arsenic Pope Leo XIV hosted dozens of stars, including Cate Blanchett, Spike Lee and Monica Bellucci for a peculiar assemblage celebrating the powerfulness of cinema.

The event, organized by the Vatican's civilization ministry, took spot successful a frescoed Vatican assemblage hall. Leo called connected the attending artists to usage their creation to see marginalized voices and praised movie to console and situation audiences.

"It articulates the questions that dwell wrong us, and sometimes, adjacent provokes tears that we did not cognize we needed to express," Leo said.

The archetypal U.S.-born pope besides acknowledged the fiscal difficulties facing movie theaters. He said institutions should not springiness up, but "cooperate successful affirming the societal and taste value" of theaters, drafting applause from the audience.

"His code was beauteous and precise inspiring, astir anticipation and our enactment successful cinema. We're gladsome we came," said Judd Apatow, who attended the assemblage with his woman and chap Hollywood prima Leslie Mann.

"It was truthful inspiring," Mann added.

Leo spent astir an hr greeting guests and making speech with each attendee. Lee, a hoops lover, talented the pontiff a New York Knicks jersey that featured the No. 14 and Leo's sanction connected the back. Leo whitethorn beryllium a known Chicago Bulls fan, but Lee said helium told the pope that the Knicks' existent roster includes 3 players from Villanova University, the Holy Father's alma mater. Lee said Leo's words astir movie were "very, precise moving."

Pope Francis held akin audiences with artists and comedians. The audiences are portion of the Vatican's efforts to scope retired beyond the Catholic Church to engage with the secular world.

A pope who "grew up with cinema"

Leo is the first American-born Pope and grew up during Hollywood's heyday. Earlier this week, helium listed his 4 favourite movies: "It's a Wonderful Life," "The Sound of Music," "Ordinary People," and "Life Is Beautiful," each classics that observe emotion and anticipation successful the look of darkness. Leo volition besides beryllium the taxable of his ain movie, a documentary from the Vatican that traces his beingness from Chicago to St. Peter's.

"He is simply a pope who grew up with tv and grew up with cinema, and it's a earthy (medium) to archer his story," said Monsignor Paul Tighe, the Vatican's civilization secretary, successful a speech with CBS Saturday Morning.

Tighe said the ample radical of filmmakers and actors was pulled unneurotic during the past 3 months. Vatican officials utilized contacts successful Hollywood, including Martin Scorsese, to assistance trade the database of attendees. The hardest part, Tighe said, was convincing Hollywood agents that the invitation wasn't a hoax. Tighe told CBS Saturday Morning that helium hopes the lawsuit shows that the Church embraces the arts, alternatively of conscionable tolerating them.

"We person to spot that the artist, adjacent erstwhile helium oregon she is being provocative, is trying to aftermath america up, drawback our attention, and marque america deliberation astir things that are important," Tighe said.