Pope Leo XIV has welcomed Spike Lee, Cate Blanchett, Greta Gerwig and dozens of other Hollywood luminaries to a special Vatican audience.

A group of A-list actors and directors will meet with the pope in Vatican City as part of his effort to "deepen dialogue with the world of cinema."

Pope Leo XIV championed cinema and the theatrical experience in remarks at the Vatican to representatives of the world of cinema.

But left unspoken at a Vatican meeting with film stars were the deep divisions over issues like abortion and homosexuality.

The Vatican officially rejected the Jesus apparitions reported in , France, during the 1970s. The supernatural claims have been declared false after decades.

Pope Leo XIV will meet and dine with Alessia Nobile and other trans Catholic activists this Sunday, during a special Vatican lunch marking the Church’s Jubilee of the Poor, Catholic journalist Christopher Hale reports.

The Vatican has returned 62 indigenous artefacts to Canada, 100 years after they were taken from tribes to appear in a missionary museum in Rome. The items were given by Pope Leo XIV on Saturday to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB),