In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis

This thoughtful documentary is a decade-long chronicling of the head of the Catholic church, arguably the most influential man on earth, from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi (Fire at Sea, Notturno). In the first nine years of his pontificate, Pope Francis made trips to 53 countries, focusing on his most important issues: poverty, migration, environment, solidarity, and war. Composed mostly of archival footage, In Viaggio grants rare access to the public life of the pope, not only from the elevated security of a pulpit but from the more democratic grounds of unpaved streets and vast public avenues, creating a dialogue between footage of Francis’ travels, images taken by Rosi himself, recent history, and the state of the world today.

The 82-minute film will be followed immediately by a 21-minute pre-recorded panel discussion about Pope Francis, his mission and methods, and issues raised in the documentary. Moderated by David Gibson (award-winning religion journalist and director of the Center on Religion and Culture, Fordham University), the participants include Ricardo da Silva, S.J. (Jesuit priest, assoc. editor America Media, Columbia Journalism School); Christiana Zenner (Associate Professor of Theology, Science, and Ethics, Fordham University); Natalia Imperatori-Lee (Professor of Religious Studies, Manhattan College); and Joshua McElwee (editor, National Catholic Reporter).