Angelina Jolie Meets Pope Francis After Vatican'Unbroken' Screening

Hollywood actress and Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Angelina Jolie met Pope Francis on Thursday after a screening of her film "Unbroken" at the Vatican.

According to Reuters, the Pope was not present at the event but Jolie and two of her children met him briefly afterwards, a spokesman said. The other half of Hollywood's power couple, Brad Pitt, was not with them.

Jolie, 39, directed the movie about American athlete and World War Two hero Louis Zamperini, whose B-24 bomber was shot down over the Pacific. "Unbroken" shows how he and his two crewmates survived in a raft for almost two months as well as his ordeal as a captive of the Japanese.

According to The Guardian, Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi emphasized that Jolie's meeting with the Pope didn't constitute a formal audience per se, but rather a brief and cordial greeting in which the Pope paid particular attention to Jolie and the children, giving them Vatican souvenirs.

"It all lasted just a few minutes, even though it was naturally very significant for those present," he said.

Jolie and her children were at the Pontifical Academy for Sciences for the screening of the film, which Lombardi described as showing "positive human and spiritual values, in particular forgiveness."

Jolie's meeting with Pope Francis, who did not get to watch the film, at the Apostolic Palace was arranged by Argentine Monsignor Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, the Academy's head and "a good friend" of the Pope.

In October last year, the actress met Queen Elizabeth, who presented her with the Insignia of an Honorary Dame Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George in recognition of her efforts against war-zone sexual violence.