Chris Pratt narrates Vatican film on St Peter's tomb featuring Pope Leo

Chris Pratt narrates a new Vatican documentary on the tomb of Saint Peter that also features Pope Leo XIV. The film, "Pétros Ení — Discovering the Origins", premiered at the Rome Film Festival on Friday, 16 October 2026, and its trailer drew wide attention over the following days. Made by AF Films with Vatican Media and the Fabric of Saint Peter, the office that looks after the basilica, it is due for an international cinema release in February 2027, during the first weeks of Lent.

Documentaries about religion rarely draw mainstream attention, but this one combines three things that travel well: a Hollywood star, a pope who is himself a global figure, and places most visitors never see. According to the Vatican's own description, the film uses footage from areas usually closed to the public, together with historical documents, archive recordings and archaeological research. It follows the site from its origins as a Roman cemetery to the first basilica built under the emperor Constantine, and then to the 20th-century excavations ordered by Pope Pius XII and the announcement made by Pope Paul VI in 1968 about the bones found there.

For the Catholic Church, the film is part of a broader effort to tell its own history directly to audiences through modern media, with Vatican Media as a co-producer. For the film industry, the list of distributors already signed in several countries shows that faith-based documentaries now have dedicated routes to cinemas.

The premiere also had a human moment. Vatican News reported that the audience in Rome applauded the pope, who it said was receiving treatment at Rome's Gemelli Hospital at the time.

For Indian audiences, the film is of interest beyond the country's Christian community. Questions about how archaeology, written records and tradition are combined to identify ancient sacred sites are familiar in India too, and the documentary's approach, setting out what was found and what was announced, rather than claiming more, is a useful model for heritage storytelling anywhere. No Indian release has been announced.

Short-term: The trailer and premiere have put a niche historical documentary in front of a mass audience, driven by the pairing of Chris Pratt and Pope Leo XIV. Pilgrims and tourists may show more interest in the Vatican's excavation tours.

Long-term: The film adds to the Vatican's use of cinema and digital media to present its heritage and to mark the basilica's 400th anniversary. Its box-office and streaming performance in 2027 will show whether faith-based documentaries with star narrators can find wide audiences.

Who is affected: Catholic audiences worldwide, viewers interested in history and archaeology, the Vatican's media and heritage offices, and distributors of faith-based films.

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