Director Martin Scorsese has met with Pope Francis, after his new film about Jesuit missionaries was screened in Rome.
The filmmaker’s latest project – Silence – is about missionaries in 17th century Japan.
Pope Francis is a Jesuit who joined the order while a young man in Argentina with the idea of becoming a missionary in Japan. But health problems scuttled that dream.
The Vatican says that during the pontiff’s “very cordial” meeting with Scorsese, the Pope mentioned he had read the novel on which the film is based.
Pope Francis also thanked Scorsese for his gift of two paintings.
The work of an 18th century Japanese artist, the paintings served as a reference for some of the details in the film.
Silence was screened at the Pontifical Oriental Institute.
