Cate Blanchett und Spike Lee begleiten Papst Leo bei seinem hochkarätigen Treffen im Vatikan

Hollywood stars met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, where the pontiff called cinema a “workshop of hope” and lamented declining audiences.

The line-up of film stars and directors meeting the first American pope on Saturday included Oscar-winners Cate Blanchett, known for “Aviator” and “Elizabeth”, and Spike Lee, who directed “Malcolm X” and “BlacKkKlansman”.

All those present in the audience in the Vatican’s apostolic palace met Leo personally at the end, with Lee presenting the first American pope with a New York Knicks jersey.

Monica Bellucci, who played Mary Magdalene in Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ”, also met the pope on Saturday, as did actor Adam Scott, of the series “Parks and Recreation” and “Severance”, and Sergio Castellitto, who played the “vaping cardinal” Tedesco in the movie “Conclave” that dramatizes the secretive papal election process.

“The Church esteems you for your work with light and time, with faces and landscapes, with words and silence,” Leo told them.

“I wish to renew this friendship because cinema is a workshop of hope, a place where people can once again find themselves and their purpose.”

The meeting took place, the Vatican said, to “deepen dialogue with the World of Cinema” and explore the “possibilities that artistic creativity offers to the mission of the Church.”

This lowkey kinda cool, I love our new Pope.