Leo XIV met this afternoon, December 4, at the Apostolic Palace with the Italian actor Roberto Benigni.

The Pope was able to see excerpts from Benigni’s monologue about “Pietro, un uomo nel vento,” which will be broadcast on Rai1, Italy’s television channel, on December 10 during prime time. The film was presented this morning in a world premiere to the press at the MAXXI Museum in Rome. At the end of the screening of Benigni’s new work, the Pontiff exclaimed, “How beautiful, it speaks of love!”

Cinema, Dante and Saint Augustine

During the meeting, the Pope and the Italian actor discussed film, specifically “Life Is Beautiful”—for which Benigni won an Oscar in 1999 and which the Pope recently included among his four favorite films—and “Life Is Wonderful,” the Christmas movie by American director Frank Capra. The Pope and Benigni also talked about the lives of Saint Peter, Dante, and Saint Augustine, the Divine Comedy, and the Confessions, the most famous book by the Bishop of Hippo.

Also participating in the meeting were the Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, Paolo Ruffini; the Director of Vatican Media, Stefano D’Agostini; Giampaolo Rossi, Director General of RAI; and Simona Ercolani, Executive and Creative Director of Stand by Me, producer, together with Vatican Media, of the monologue “Pietro un uomo nel vento” (Pietro, a man in the wind).