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Pope Leo XIV, history’s first American pope, welcomed Hollywood stars including Spike Lee and Cate Blanchett to celebrate cinema’s power to inspire and unite.

Leo urged filmmakers to include marginalized voices, calling authentic film ‘a popular art in the noblest sense.’

The Chicago-born pontiff spent nearly an hour greeting the celebrities, underscoring the social and cultural importance of the movie theater as a community gathering space.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV welcomed Spike Lee, Cate Blanchett, Greta Gerwig and dozens of other Hollywood luminaries to a special Vatican audience Saturday celebrating cinema and its ability to inspire and unite.

Leo encouraged the filmm

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