The Vatican reported that Pope Francis met privately on Wednesday with the award-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese. The brief meeting took place in the study of the Paul VI Hall before the Pope’s general audience. Scorsese gave Pope Francis a book of photos from his latest film, Killers of the Flower Moon, which has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards. Scorsese and his wife, Helen Morris, also attended the general audience after the encounter.
Scorsese’s Jesus film was inspired by a call from Pope Francis who met with writers and artists last year and urged them to tell “powerful stories ... capable of shouting the Gospel message to the world, of making us see Jesus.”
During Wednesday’s meeting, Pope Francis and Scorsese posed with a film slate (used to mark shots for the camera when filming). “He’s our producer,” Scorsese quipped to laughter.
Not much is known about Scorsese’s Jesus film, except that it will be experimental and about 80 minutes long. Scorsese has stated that he wants to “take away the negative onus of what has been associated with religion.” There is currently no release date for the film.
The Vatican and celebrities
It is fairly common for popes to meet with celebrities. During his pontificate, Pope Francis has welcomed actors such as Denzel Washington and Haley Atwell, singer Andrea Boccelli (who also sang for Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI), rock stars like Sting, and countless others.
In 2021 he also had a meeting with Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in The Chosen, along with Dallas Jenkins the creator of the hit series. “Meeting the Pope has always been a childhood dream of mine,” Roumie said at the time. “I never expected that it would happen in this way because of me playing Jesus in a series that has become a worldwide phenomenon. Today has been one of the greatest spiritual moments of my life.”
You can watch a video of the Pope Francis’s meeting with Martin Scorsese below, courtesy of Rome Reports.
