American actor Matthew McConaughey met Pope Leo XIV and visited the US Embassy to the Holy See.
McConaughey and his wife, Camila Alves McConaughey, attended Wednesday’s general audience with Pope Leo XIV. Following the audience, the Pope greeted the couple and had a brief exchange with them.
At the US Embassy, McConaughey had a “meaningful exchange” with Fr Paolo Benanti, an AI ethicist and theologian, according to an August 5 social media post by the embassy.
“They discussed spirituality and how best to include artists in the conversation around the future of AI,” the post said, adding: “We are grateful for the opportunity to foster such thoughtful dialogue on how emerging technologies are changing creative industries.”
McConaughey has spoken publicly about his Christian faith and reportedly attends a non-denominational church in Texas. His wife, a native of Brazil, is Catholic, and the two were married in a Catholic ceremony in 2012.
In 2014, after winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, McConaughey thanked God in a speech that surprised some of his fans.
“First off I want to thank God, because he’s the one I look up to, he’s graced my life with opportunities which I know are not of my hand or any other human kind. He has shown me that it’s a scientific fact that gratitude reciprocates. In the words of the late Charlie Laughton, who said, ‘When you got God you got a friend and that friend is you,’” he said.
Last year, appearing on the morning programme The Breakfast Club, McConaughey spoke about the evolution of his faith and his belief in God.
“I’ve had my years of non-believing,” he said, adding that the period lasted about two years.
“I was like, nope, self-reliance is it. I’m responsible for me, I’m not relying on faith, forgiveness, or all that,” McConaughey said. “It’s about me. I’ve got to be self-reliant.”
Looking back on that period, McConaughey said he was glad he had gone through it, but that when “I came back to God, I heard God applauding, going ‘thank you for having your hands on the wheel.’”
A person should make use of both faith and free will, he said.
McConaughey has repeatedly raised the possibility of running for public office in the US, but has yet to declare his candidacy for any election.
