Vatican issues third doc on pope, 'Leo in Rome'

The Vatican has released its third

documentary on Pope Leo XIV after one on his formative years as

a missionary in Peru and another on his US origins and early

days in Chicago.

The new doc, titled 'Leo in Rome', charts the young prelate's

activities and interests while based in the Italian capital,

attending peace protests against Euromissiles in 1983, taking

out a pedalo for spin on the lakes of Trentino, snapping himself

with the traditional 'carretti' of Sicily and spending many an

enjoyable evening watching iconic showman Renzo Arbore's cult

and game-changing late-night variety show 'Quelli della Notte'

in 1985.

It also features a funny photo of Leo in his cassock wearing the

trainers he used to play his favourite sport, tennis.

The doc also shows Leo in later life in Rome as an important

cardinal.

"I had a small black-and-white television in my room that had

been given to me," a former companion and friend, Augustinian

brother Giovanni Lenzi, recalls on camera.

"He (Leo) would come and watch it in my room after dinner.

"It was the time when Renzo Arbore's show 'Quelli della notte'

was on.

"We caught an episode once by chance, and after that we never

missed a single episode.

"Every evening after 10, we'd start watching for an hour, two

hours; for us, it was our break," Lenzi recounts.

"He would then go to his room to study. He'd study until 3 or 4,

then he'd get up at 6."

The old acquaintance also recounts how they went to Chicago

together and the future pope took him to play on the tennis

courts of the nearby oratory, "and it was 40-45 degrees."

The young Augustinians studied, organized theatrical

performances, and "played lots of pranks on each other," says

Father Ciro Musiello, who still laughs when he thinks back to a

prank the future pope played on him, placing an alarm clock in

his closet.

"I thought it was a plane, I opened the window, and instead it

was the radio in the closet..." he says, laughing.

Father Pietro Bellini, for his part, emphasizes the pontiff's

extensive education.

"He has three degrees, the first in mathematics," and "he has a

mind like a clock."

Augustinian Gianfranco Casagrande recalls his mission in Peru

and the time when, due to a landslide, rain, and mud, the then

Cardinal Robert Prevost's van slid into a ravine.

"We were all there screaming, and he, the driver, very coolly,

saw a rock and jumped over it. And he said, 'Come down one at a

time.'

"Providence saw to it that the brave driver was destined to

become the successor of Saint Peter."

The documentary has many iconic photos, from the one in his

cassock with sneakers underneath to those with the young people

he met on so many occasions.

Finally, there is his relationship with Pope Francis, who called

him from Chiclayo to Rome to serve as Prefect of the sensitive

Dicastery of Bishops and later created him a cardinal.

Some other stories were shared by nun Lia Zervino.

When she asked her mother what she thought about the role of

women in the church, her mother commented, "I know I'm more

important than your father," a remark Leo appears to have

digested as he seeks to put more nuns in leadership positions,

continuing Francis's moves.

Finally, there is Valerio Masella, Leo's personal trainer, who

says: "You can see he's been active all his life."

The documentary is a production of the Dicastery for

Communication, produced by journalists Felipe Herrera-Espaliat,

Salvatore Cernuzio, and Tiziana Campisi, with editing by Jaime

Vizcaíno Haro.

Vatican News said the doc "retraces the years Robert Francis

Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, spent in the Eternal City.

"Covering a period of approximately 20 years, the film follows

his journey from the United States to Italy in 1981, then looks

at his years leading the Order of Saint Augustine for two terms,

and also his appointment as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops

and his elevation to the College of Cardinals in 2023.

"Years of friendship, study, travel, excursions, encounters,

meetings, pilgrimages, and work are all told through previously

unreleased images and footage, as well as through the voices of

fellow Augustinians, former classmates, old friends, and members

of the Order and of the Dicastery for Bishops.

"Leo in Rome completes Vatican News' journey exploring the life

and character of the Pope, which began with the documentary León

de Perú, released in June 2025, focusing on his missionary years

in the South American country, and continued with Leo from

Chicago, released in November and looking at Prevost's American

roots," said Vatican News.

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