Opinion: Pope Leo's hope-inspiring favorite films

Scott Simon

November 15, 2025 / 5:00 am

Imagine this on a movie poster: "'Two thumbs up! — Pope Leo."

The pope meets movie stars and directors at the Vatican today, including Cate Blanchett, Chris Pine, Spike Lee, Viggo Mortensen, and Monica Bellucci, to "deepen dialogue with the World of Cinema," says the Vatican. Pope Leo also revealed his four favorite movies.

One is 1965's The Sound of Music with Julie Andrews. Great songs, great curtains, "wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings …" And nuns who sneak under the hood of the Gestapo's cars to remove critical parts, so the Trapp family can flee Nazi rule in Austria, climbing every mountain as they go.

Another is Frank Capra's 1946 film, It's A Wonderful Life . George B

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