Mexican filmmaker Jesús Garcés received one of the greatest surprises of his life on May 8. He had heard the bells of St. Peter's and rushed to St. Peter's Square.
JESÚS GARCÉS LAMBERT, Filmmaker
When you arrive at the Square, there's this suspense, this tension, because you don’t know… You know they’ve elected the Pope, you’re with 150,000 people, and no one knows who the Pope is. Everyone is focused on a balcony, which is where he will come out.
I couldn’t see him, so I didn’t know who the Pope was. Then my son says, ‘Dad, the Pope is the cardinal who was at the presentation of your movie about the Swiss Guards.’ And I initially said, ‘No way, I don’t think so… no, he wasn’t among the papables.’ But when I finally saw the screen, I realized it was him. Then the excitement was even greater. Not only the excitement of having a new Pope, but also the excitement that this Pope, just a few months ago, just a few days ago, was watching the movie I directed. And he loved the movie.
Jesús Garcés is the director of the documentary Honor in Armor, which tells the story and history of the Swiss Guards. It is a co-production between Rome Reports and Swiss public television SRF, and the then-Cardinal Prevost, now Leo XIV, presided over the official presentation at the Vatican. Due to his position heading the Dicastery for Bishops, he had a lot of work to do, and so he excused himself at the beginning, saying he would probably leave midway through the screening.
JESÚS GARCÉS LAMBERT, Filmmaker
And suddenly, I see that he’s reacting very well to the movie. He starts laughing at the moments he should laugh at… at the funniest moments. He gets emotional at the most emotional parts, and I see that he keeps turning around to look at me and almost silently comment on the movie. He didn’t get up, he didn’t leave… So for me, that was one of the greatest gifts, and made me realize that the movie was working well because he stayed until the end. When the movie finished, he turned around, and at that moment, he said to me, ‘Thank you very much for making this movie, this is exactly what we need.'
And the story doesn’t end there because the filmmaker's family was also present on that important day.
JESÚS GARCÉS LAMBERT, Filmmaker
My teenage kids came to congratulate me on the movie. He turned around and started talking to my kids. What cardinal of that level talks to two teenagers and asks them what they’re doing? Why are they doing it?… And they talked for several minutes. To me, this speaks of a great human being, full of humanity and tenderness.
It will be hard for him to watch one of his movies with Leo XIV again, but it is clear that this image will be etched in his memory for life.
AO
Trans. CRT
