Pope Francis, meeting with Sylvester Stallone who visited The Vatican on Friday September 8, was feeling frisky and cheerful as he fake-jabbed Rambo the action hero, clearly catching everyone by surprise.
Sly discovered, to his delight, that Pope Francis is a huge fan of his films.
The meeting was a special occasion for Stallone, who introduced his wife Jennifer and his three daughters Sophie, Sistine and Scarlet to the pope. Stallone also brought his brother Frank, who is also an actor and musician.
The pope greeted them warmly and said, “We grew up with your films.” This might seem like a surprising comment given that Pope Francis, at 86, is 9 years older than “Rocky Balboa,” but he answered, “Well I’m honored, too,” before raising his fists and air-pumping, saying, “Ready? We box!”
The pope joined in the fun and mimicked Stallone’s boxing stance and jabbed him on the arm. The encounter was captured on video and shared by Vatican News on X (previously known as Twitter).
The group later assembled for a photo, also shared on Vatican News.
Stallone was visiting Italy to receive honorary citizenship of Gioia del Colle, a town in the southern region of Puglia where his father was born before immigrating to the United States in the 1930s. Stallone visited his grandfather’s home and held up an old key that belonged to his grandfather’s barber shop. He also gave a speech to the residents of the town and said, “As Rocky would say: I love you, and keep fighting”.
The Italian American actor is a Catholic who returned to his faith after years of being away from the Church. He said that the birth of his daughter in the late 1990s was a turning point for him and that he started putting everything in God’s hands. He also shared that going to church puts him where he should be and that he was alone in the world before his return to the faith.
The video shows a smiling Pope telling Stallone that he was he was a longtime fan.
Stallone has had a 55-year career, since his breakthrough role in the Oscar-winning Rocky, a film he wrote the screenplay for as well as playing the title role. Sly, a new Netflix documentary, looking at his early challenges as a troubled child in New York before breaking into the film industry, followed by huge successes with Rocky, Rambo and other characters, will premiere on the closing night of the Toronto Film Festival.
It is directed by Thom Zinny, and is billed as “an intimate and unexpected look” at the veteran actor’s life and career. The documentary is due for release in November.
