Pope Francis Greets Leo Di Caprio
Leo Di Caprio was granted an audience with the Pope, during which they spoke about their shared concerns for the environment. The Oscar-nominated actor greeted the pontiff in Italian, saying: "Your Holiness, thank you for granting me this private audience with you" as he kissed his hand and bowed, before the two exchanged gifts.
The actor gave Pope Francis a copy of a book about 15th-century Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch, featuring a painting - Bosch'sGarden of Earthly Delights, depicting Eden turning to Hell - which DiCaprio revealed his father hung in his room when he was born.
"It was hanging above my crib as a young boy, and as a child I didn't quite understand what it all meant," DiCaprio told Pope Francis. "But through my child's eyes it represented a planet, the utopia we had been given, the overpopulation, excesses, and the third panel we see a blackened sky that represents so much to me of what's going on in the environment. And it's representational of your
view, too."
Pope Francis wrote a papal encyclical - a letter of official concern - entitled Laudato Si (Praise Be) last year, which has been celebrated by environmentalists for its "denunciation of the world's fossil fuel-based economy and its demand for greener energy sources", ABC News reports. The pontiff gifted DiCaprio a red leather-bound copy of the work, along with a copy ofThe Joy of the Gospel, before urging him in English: "Pray for me, don't forget."
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