Watch: Risen star Joseph Fiennes meets the Pope in Rome

In Risen, Joseph Fiennes plays a Roman tribune stationed in Palestine who wishes he could go back to Rome. In real life, Fiennes himself went to Rome this week to promote the film, and while he was there he (and his family) met the Pope.

This is becoming a rite of passage for actors making Bible movies.

Two years ago, Darren Aronofsky and Russell Crowe tried to get a blessing from the Pope while promoting Noah, but, in the absence of photographic evidence, there was some confusion as to whether or not they actually got to meet him in the end.

Then, last year, Paramount sent out a press release with photos announcing that the actor who plays Jesus in their upcoming remake of Ben-Hur (which was being shot in Rome at the time) had met the Pope during his regular Wednesday audience.

And now, Sony has sent out two photos of the Pope’s encounter with Fiennes, along with a press release noting that the film will screen at the Vatican today.

A friend of mine was in Rome this week to attend a screening of Risen, incidentally. We’ll hopefully be hearing more about that in the near future. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, here are the two photos:

Update: And now Sony has posted this video of the encounter (the actress standing next to Fiennes is Maria Botto, who plays Mary Magdalene in the film):

Check out earlier Risen trailers and other videos here:

• The first trailer (April 29, 2015)
• The second trailer (August 28, 2015)
• The second trailer with updated release date (November 5, 2015)
• The ‘Clavius’ Journey’ and ‘Key Leaders’ featurettes (December 10, 2015)
• The ‘On Set & Behind the Scenes of RISEN’ featurette (December 15, 2015)
• The ‘Pastor Craig Groeschel On Why RISEN Makes An Impact’ featurette (January 13, 2016)
• The first 15-second social-media video (January 18, 2016)
• The ‘Claims to Be the Messiah’, ‘It Is Finished’, ‘Secure the Tomb’, ‘The Body Is Gone’, ‘Perhaps It’s True’, ‘What Made You Follow Him?’ and ‘Sweat and Herbs’ clips, the early junket interviews with Joseph Fiennes and Cliff Curtis, and the second 15-second social-media video (January 29, 2016)
• The ‘From Script To Screen, Filmmakers Discuss The Making of RISEN’ featurette (February 2, 2016)