Al Pacino is the first movie star to have an audience with the recently elected Pope Leo XIV.
The actor is currently in Italy to shoot a film about car moguls the Maserati brothers, and he met the pontiff on Monday (June 16).
The upcoming film’s producer, Andrea Iervolino, wrote: “We are honoured to announce that this morning His Holiness Pope Leo XIV received in a private audience at the Holy See a delegation from the film Maserati: The Brothers, including Oscar winner actor Al Pacino and the film’s producer Andrea Iervolino.
“The meeting was a moment of profound spiritual and cultural inspiration, centred around shared values that lie at the heart of both the Catholic church and the film: family unity, love, compassion and the importance of contributing to the common good.”
The statement continued: “These values, which Pope Leo XIV has consistently emphasised in his recent messages to the world, resonate deeply with the story of the Maserati brothers: a family whose legacy was built not only on innovation and excellence but on profound mutual respect, solidarity and a shared vision.”
Al Pacino meets Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican pic.twitter.com/l0kbad4rQb
— best of al pacino (@bestofpacino) June 16, 2025
According to local press, Pacino, who was raised Catholic by his Italian parents in New York, reportedly arrived for his meeting with the Pope via private jet on Sunday (June 15).
In other Pope Leo XIV-related news, he is reportedly related to a roster of famous names, including Justin Bieber and Madonna, according to a new report by the New York Times.
The publication put together a deep dive into the Pope’s ancestry, and found that the pontiff is linked to both Bieber and Madonna through a common ancestor born around six generations ago – and it also links him to the likes of Angelina Jolie and Hillary Clinton.
“Through one Canadian ancestor, Louis Boucher de Grandpre, who was born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, the pope is related to numerous Canadian-derived distant cousins, including Pierre and Justin Trudeau, Angelina Jolie, Hillary Clinton, Justin Bieber, Jack Kerouac and Madonna,” the report reads.
In other Al Pacino-related news, last year the actor opened up about the original ending to The Godfather Part 3 that he “loved”.In his recent book Sonny Boy, Pacino revealed the original ending panned out slightly differently, with his character meeting his end in the assassination attempt.
“At the film’s conclusion, Michael would get assassinated on the stairs of the church,” he explained. “He rolls down the steps and comes to rest on the ground at the bottom.
“Kay, his ex-wife, rushes to his side. She looks into his face and asks him, ‘Michael, are you dying? Are you going to die?’ And Michael looks up at her and he says, ‘No.’ And then he dies. Phenomenal ending. A brilliant callback to the first Godfather, as Michael ends his life with one last lie to Kay.”
Pacino went on to admit problems surfaced after actors Richard S. Castellano and Robert Duvall refused to return as Peter Clemenza and Tom Hagen, calling it a “big miss”.