One of the most searched persons online this year, and apparently one of the best dressed, is not a typical celebrity and has, we recently learned, rather ordinary, even traditional, tastes in movies and fashion.

Yes, I am referring to Leo XIV, the first American pope, who revealed to  cultural trendsetters who came to the Vatican in November for a celebration of film that his top two favorite movies are It’s a Wonderful Life and The Sound of Music. Hurrah for the great Hollywood era when such shamelessly good-hearted classics were standard fare.

And just last week, Vogue chose him as one of the world’s 50 best-dressed figures, remarking especially on the traditional papal garb he wore after his election last May. The pope, of course, is helped in his sartorial choices by a rich Catholic history of beautiful papal vestments, and he is bound to stand out in a crowd since no one else could wear the same garments with legitimacy.

But his choice of movies is very personal and deserves the attention it has gained.

Indeed, headlines are sure to be made whenever a pope offers his opinion on things in the secular sphere, and last month was no exception. It is probably a compliment to the Church and her leader that the world acts surprised when a pope appears human, with a family and friends as well as favorite foods, flicks, and sports teams. Being an American with a very traceable and accessible history of neighborhoods, schools, teachers—and two brothers who don’t mind bringing their sibling gently down to earth—Leo has supplied the media with a trove of background information. We can visit his childhood home on the South Side of Chicago and see where he sat while rooting for his beloved White Sox.

Coverage also was boosted by the stars who attended the Vatican’s World of Cinema event. The Associated Press led with the marquee names: “Pope Leo XIV  welcomed Spike Lee, Cate Blanchett, Greta Gerwig and dozens of other Hollywood luminaries to a special Vatican audience Saturday celebrating cinema and its ability to inspire and unite.”

Speaking to an audience that might not heed him much on faith and morals, Leo challenged the film folks to reach for universal themes that reveal the truth of the human condition. The AP quoted: “When cinema is authentic, it does not merely console, but challenges. It articulates the questions that dwell within us, and sometimes, even provokes tears that we did not know we needed to express.”

Indeed, drama and all the arts have long been the field of the Catholic Church, from the deeply psychological Confessions of Augustine to the medieval morality plays to the artists too numerous to mention across the centuries whose works still are studied and displayed to . . . The Sound of Music with its endearing nuns, lush footage of Catholic Salzburg, evil Nazis, and a grand sacramental marriage of Maria and the Captain in the abbey chapel.

Given Catholicism’s long patronage of and inspiration for the arts, it’s a wonder today that the Vatican is treated merely as a colorful backdrop for a star-studded event and the pope as little more than an outside commentator. But that’s a thought for another column.

It is enough for now to note that so many Hollywood stars would think it worthwhile to be seen at the Vatican, repository of so much past artistic glory, and sit in silent order as the Successor of Peter spoke to them about their own profession. Of course, part of the lure was the prospect of a trip to the Eternal City to meet the first US-born pope. Maybe some thought their presence would have an effect on the viewpoints of the pope and the Vatican, but most were likely there simply for a photo-op with a world figure who would get their names into headlines.

As head of a worldwide Church and leader of the world’s smallest nation, the pope has a foot in the sacred and the secular and must act with prudence when denizens from the two spheres meet under his roof at his invitation. I wonder if anything good can come of such meetings with glitterati and the 15 minutes of attention the media affords them. Of course, we don’t know the interior lives of some of the more notorious Hollywood stars and how God may see them, and we recall what St. Paul wrote with great hope: “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Rom 5:20).

If nothing else, we can all watch It’s a Wonderful Life this month with a reasonable assurance that a certain screen in the Vatican will also be tuned in. or me, it will make for an even Merrier Christmas!