Pope Francis meets homeless people and refugees after film screening

CNA Staff, May 25, 2021 / 04:20 am (CNA).

Pope Francis greeted homeless people and refugees at the Vatican on Monday evening after a screening of a documentary about his life.

The pope met with a group of around 100 people on May 24 following the screening of the 2020 film “Francesco,” directed by Evgeny Afineevsky.

Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, said that the meeting took place at the atrium of the Paul VI Audience Hall, following the screening organized by the director and the Laudato Si’ Foundation.

He said that those present were invited to watch the film while food packages, offered by the organizers, were distributed to them.

Afineevsky’s film gained international attention when it was premiered at the Rome Film Festival last October as it included a line from Pope Francis in a video interview calling for the passage of civil union laws for same-sex couples.

Featuring interviews with Vatican figures including Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and other collaborators of the pope, “Francesco” looks at the pope’s advocacy for migrants and refugees, the poor, his work on the issue of clerical sexual abuse, the role of women in society, and the disposition of Catholics and others toward those who identify as LGBT.

Discovery+ acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, streaming it from March 28.

After greeting the group, Pope Francis returned to his residence, the Casa Santa Marta.