Jonathan Roumie, the actor who plays Jesus on the hit biblical series “The Chosen,” was all smiles when he snapped a selfie with Pope Leo XIV this week at the Vatican.
Roumie pulled out his smartphone while posing alongside the newly elected pope during a June 25 general audience at the Vatican, according to the Catholic News Agency website.
A Season 5 episode of “The Chosen” streamed June 23 at the Vatican’s Filmoteca theater.
Roumie and his co-stars Elizabeth Tabish, who plays Mary Magdalene, George Xanthis, who plays St. John the Apostle, and Vanessa Benavente, who plays Mother Mary, were in the southern Italian town of Matera for three weeks shooting the series.
The actors, along with series creator and director Dallas Jenkins, are filming Jesus’ crucifixion in Matera for Season 6.
Roumie called visiting the Vatican a βhumbling honor” during a June 23 press conference and expressed his excitement ahead of a potential meeting with the pope.
βWhen (Pope Leo XIV) was elected, I wept, because I never thought Iβd see an American pope in my lifetime,β Roumie, who is Catholic, told reporters.
Roumieβs selfie with Pope Leo XIV comes less than two weeks after the first American-born pontiff made headlines for donning a black Chicago White Sox cap while meeting with newlywed couples June 11 at the Vatican.
The pope, who was born Robert Prevost in Chicago, is a White Sox fan, and attended the first game of the 2005 World Series between the White Sox and Houston Astros, which the White Sox won.
The team’s official account on X proudly shared a photo of Pope Leo XIV wearing his White Sox hat earlier this month.
The team captioned the shot, β@Pontifex representing his favorite squad.”
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