Martin Scorsese to make film about Jesus after meeting Pope Francis 

Renowned director Martin Scorsese has embarked on a tour of Italy following the Cannes Film Festival, where he met with Pope Francis and shared his plans to make a film about Jesus. During a conference at the Vatican organized by Jesuit publication La Civiltà Cattolica and Georgetown University, Scorsese announced that he had responded to the Pope's call to artistes by writing a screenplay about Jesus and expressed his intention to begin production soon.

Scorsese and his wife Helen Morris also had a private audience with Pope Francis before the conference. Antonio Spadaro, editor of La Civiltà Cattolica, reported that Scorsese discussed his films, personal anecdotes, and how the Pope's appeal to "let us see Jesus" had deeply affected him. 

Scorsese praised Pier Paolo Pasolini's "The Gospel According to St. Matthew" and reflected on his own controversial 1988 film, "The Last Temptation of Christ," as well as his 2016 drama "Silence," which explored the persecution of Jesuit Christians in Japan.

While Scorsese's manager has yet to comment on the director's new religious project, the Italian leg of his tour includes screenings of his films paired with works that have influenced his career, a master class for film school students in Rome, and an onstage conversation at the Cineteca di Bologna in Bologna.

Martin Scorsese's announcement of his upcoming film, made during his meeting with Pope Francis, has generated significant interest and anticipation within the film industry and among fans. Given Scorsese's acclaimed filmography and his previous explorations of religious themes, the project is expected to attract considerable attention and spark conversations about faith and cinema.