Apr 23, 2025 02:29 PM IST
Pope Francis became the first pontiff to star in a film with this 2017 feature. This was in addition to the documentary on his life made by Wim Wenders.
Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday morning. He was 88. The Catholic leader was known for his humble demeanour and deep compassion for the poor, garnering widespread acclaim for his stance on social justice, environmental causes and more. Did you know that he was also the first pontiff to star in a feature film? Yes, Pope Francis played himself in Beyond the Sun (2018), which was an independent feature film based on the gospels. (Also read: World’s richest TV host has $3 billion net worth, owns a TV channel, is richer than Tom Cruise, Dwayne Johnson combined)
Pope Francis in Beyond the Sun
In Beyond the Sun, Pope Francis appeared in a scene where he narrates Jesus’ teachings with a group of children. The scene continues for about 6 minutes. The dialogues in the scene were improvised by the Pope himself and the scene was shot inside the Vatican. The film revolves around a group of children who decide to run away from home in their search for Jesus.
“He is used to having cameras in front of him now. He would advise [the crew] and be like, ‘The light is better this way,’ ” said co-director Graciela Rodriguez Gilio about collaborating with Pope Francis in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Documentary by Wim Wenders
Meanwhile, the most notable depiction of Pope Francis happens to be in the documentary that was helmed by legendary German filmmaker Wim Wenders, which was titled Pope Francis: A Man of His Word (2018). It was assembled of interviews and visuals from his daily life. In recent years, actor Jonathan Pryce played the soon-to-be elected Pope Francis in the 2019 drama The Two Popes, directed by Fernando Meirelles. Pryce was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in the film.
Pope Francis died of a stroke, causing a coma and ‘irreversible’ heart failure, according to his death certificate released by the Vatican Monday.
Francis, originally from Argentina and the first pope from the Americas, was also the first pope in more than a century to live outside the Vatican’s apostolic palace, an ornate Italian Renaissance building located next to St. Peter’s Square.
