Hollywood star and environmental
campaigner Leonardo DiCaprio thanked Pope Francis in Italian for
granting him a private audience Thursday.
The actor, who recently got another Oscar nod for The
Revenant, kissed the pope's hand in his personal library and
said to him in Italian "thank you for having granted me this
private audience".
DiCaprio gave Francis a book of illustrations by Hieronymus
Bosch, telling the pope: "A picture of the Earth by Bosch hung
over my bed as a child, my father put it up.
"For me it always represented the planet and ecological
utopia, it was an inspiration and a promise for the future,"
said the star, who promotes environmentally friendly causes
through a foundation.
DiCaprio then gave the pope a cheque from his foundation.
Francis, for his part, gave DiCaprio a copy of his
ecological encyclical Laudato Si', as well as a rosary.
The pope, taking his leave, told DiCaprio: "Pray for me,
don't forget".
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