Vatican Film Library

The Vatican Film Library, known in Italian as the Filmoteca Vaticana, is the film archive of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Established in 1959 by Pope John XXIII, it preserves and maintains a collection of more than 8,000 film titles spanning historic cinema, Church events, commercial films, and documentaries. It functions today as part of the Dicastery for Communication and holds membership in the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), distinguishing itself from the unrelated Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library at Saint Louis University in Missouri.

Pope John XXIII instituted the Vatican Film Library on November 16, 1959, granting it legal personality and charging it with collecting and preserving films and recorded television programs concerning the life of the Catholic Church. Initially entrusted to the Pontifical Commission for Cinematography, the archive followed that body's transformation into the Pontifical Commission for Social Communications in 1964, then the Pontifical Council for Social Communications in 1988. On June 27, 2015, Pope Francis established the Dicastery for Communication within the Roman Curia, which now oversees the Film Library along with other Vatican media operations. From 2006, management passed to lay film critic Claudia Di Giovanni, succeeding Enric Planas i Coma, who had directed the institution for many years. The library's projection hall has served as a venue for papal audiences and private screenings, with Pope John Paul II attending on several occasions.

The collection comprises over 8,000 titles, though some sources cite approximately 7,000. It encompasses silent and sound short and feature films devoted to the popes, historical films, films recounting Church events, commercial works of artistic and thematic significance, and current-affairs documentaries on varied subjects. The archive's mission extends beyond Church-related material to include cinematic documents concerning papal history, the Church, and its works worldwide, as well as films of notable artistic and humanistic value. Preservation standards follow FIAF guidelines, with film stock maintained in climate-controlled vaults at a constant temperature of 14 to 18 degrees Celsius and relative humidity of approximately 30 to 35 percent.

Among the archive's rare early cinema holdings is Sua Santita papa Leone XIII, one of the first films shot in Italy. William Kennedy Laurie Dickson directed this short for the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, filming in the Vatican gardens between June and July 1898 after prolonged negotiations with Apostolic Chamber Prefect Francesco Salesio Della Volpe and with the intercession of Pope Leo XIII's nephew, Count Pecci. The film comprises three different takes, blessed by the eighty-eight-year-old pontiff, and was likely shot on Kodak stock. Born in in 1810, Leo XIII ranks as the second-oldest human being to appear on film. The library also holds L'Inferno (1911) by Giuseppe Berardi and Arturo Busnengo, the first Italian feature with special effects, digitized under the artistic direction of Ettore Pasculli. In 2014, the Vatican Film Library completed restoration and digitization of Pier Paolo Pasolini's Il Vangelo secondo Matteo. Additionally, in collaboration with the Italian National Film Archive, it contributed to restoration of Guerra alla guerra (1948) by Romolo Marcellini and Giorgio Simonelli.

The Vatican Film Library's offices are located on Via della Conciliazione in Rome, while its film reserves and facilities are housed in Palazzo San Carlo, Piazza Santa Marta, within Vatican City. The building incorporates a 54-seat projection hall, renovated in 2005. A commemorative plaque on the entrance facade honors composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594), who resided there from 1571 until his death on February 2, 1594.

As an institution of the Holy See, the Vatican Film Library is not a public museum but a specialized archive serving the Church's communication and documentary needs. Its projection facilities have hosted directors presenting previews of their works, including Liliana Cavani, Roberto Benigni, and Martin Scorsese, in addition to papal attendances. In June 2025, the screening room hosted cast members and the creator of the television series The Chosen for a preview of an episode ahead of the Italian broadcast of its fifth season.