Pope Leo XIV Names ‘The Sound Of Music,’ ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ And This Italian Classic Among His Favorite Films Of All-Time

In an effort to “deepen dialogue” between the Vatican and Hollywood, Pope Leo XIV has shared his four favorite films of all time and announced a star-studded gathering set to take place at the Vatican later this week.

The Vatican seems to have taken a page out of Letterbox’s notebook by asking the Chicago-born Pope to share his four favorite films in a new video, which he shared are: It’s A Wonderful Life, directed by Frank Capra; The Sound of Music, directed by Robert Wise; Ordinary People, directed by Robert Redford; and La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful), directed by Roberto Benigni, per Variety.

The Vatican shared in a statement that the pope “has expressed his desire to deepen dialogue with the World of Cinema… exploring the possibilities that artistic creativity offers to the mission of the Church and the promotion of human values.”

Pope Leo XIV, who is the first pope from the United States, will be hosting a meeting with leading movie stars and filmmakers Saturday, Nov. 15.

Cate Blanchett, Viggo Mortensen, Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Chris Pine are among dozens of stars who will be visiting the Pope at the gathering at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.

Italian actresses Monica Bellucci, who starred as Mary Magdalene in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, and Maria Grazia Cucinotta will also meet the pope, joined by filmmakers Spike lee, George Miller, Giuseppe Tornatore, Gus Van Sant and Giuseppe Tornatore.

This news comes just days after Pope Leo met with Robert De Niro, who received the Lupa Capitolina honor from the Mayor of Rome and was gifted a rosary by the pope.

All of Pope Leo XIV’s favorite films are available to stream or rent on Prime Video.