From time to time, cinephiles can be guilty of hyperbole. Maybe it isn’t entirely true that Martin Scorsese understands the human condition better than Homer, Shakespeare, or Austen. Perhaps it is a bit much to call the studio heads of RKO history’s greatest monsters for taking away The Magnificent Ambersons from Orson Welles . And it just might be overstating things to say that all of human suffering could be ended if everyone just sat down and watched Singin’ in the Rain together.

But when we said that cinemas were holy places, we were right on the money. Because that’s an opinion shared by the pope himself. During an address on November 15, 2025, Pope Leo XIV said ( via IndieWire ) it is “wonderful to see that when the magic light of cinema illuminates the darkness, it simu

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