'Pétros ení': New film on St Peter’s tomb features Pope Leo
The documentary “Pétros ení: Discovering the Origins” premiered at the Rome Film Festival on 16 October, marking the 400th anniversary of the consecration of St Peter’s Basilica. Produced by AF Films with Vatican Media and the Fabric of St Peter, the film explores the history, archaeology and faith surrounding St Peter’s tomb. Narrator Chris Pratt describes St Peter as an imperfect, human figure whose strength came through faith and grace. The film features Pope Leo XIV reflecting on St Peter and takes viewers on a journey through the Vatican Necropolis.
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Pétros ení: Alla scoperta delle origini (“Discovering the Origins”) traces the history and archaeology of St Peter’s tomb and the origins of St Peter’s Basilica. The documentary premiered at the Rome Film Festival on October 16, 2026, as the basilica’s 400th-anniversary year approaches, and features Pope Leo XIV reflecting on St Peter.
Produced by AF Films with Vatican Media and the Fabric of St Peter, the documentary is directed by Paula Ortiz, written by Andrea Tornielli and narrated by actor Chris Pratt. The film marks the 400th anniversary of the basilica’s consecration on November 18, 1626.
A video message from Pratt preceded the screening. The audience also applauded Pope Leo, who the article reported was receiving treatment at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital; Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, expressed hope for the Pope’s recovery following surgery.
Pratt describes Peter as an imperfect, weak and human figure whose strength came through faith and grace. He said making the film moved him and helped him reflect on his own faith; the article notes that he had returned to Catholicism about six years earlier.
Ruffini presented Peter’s denial of Jesus and subsequent forgiveness as central to the film’s portrayal of the Church’s foundations. The documentary follows Pratt as a pilgrim through the basilica and into the Vatican Necropolis, placing the apostle’s story within the history of the Church.
The approximately 60-minute film moves from the present-day basilica back through the Constantinian Basilica to the Roman necropolis below. Its account follows excavations initiated by Pope Pius XII during the Second World War and the later confirmation under Pope Paul VI that Peter’s remains had been found.
The documentary combines records from the Fabric of St Peter’s archives, expertise from necropolis specialist Pietro Zander, papal images and recordings, and archival footage of epigrapher Margherita Guarducci. It also recounts how wartime excavation work by basilica workers and gravediggers helped identify Peter’s burial place and a box containing bones. The article says the film’s opening credits state that its images have not been altered using artificial intelligence.
Archaeology shapes sacred memory and understandings of apostolic authority
Archaeology shapes sacred memory not by simply recovering an untouched past, but by giving material form to how Christian communities remembered, worshipped, and handed on their faith. Tombs, inscriptions, churches, and images can illuminate the settings of early Christian life and sometimes confirm or recontextualize traditions; they can also raise new questions. Pope Leo XIV therefore presents archaeology as a partner to theology, while warning against idealizing the past: Christian history includes continuity and rupture, holiness and human fragility.
That memory bears on apostolic authority, but it does not establish authority by itself. The veneration of a tomb or the presence of an ancient church may attest to a community’s belief about its origins and its reverence for an apostle or martyr. Such evidence is historically important, yet it must be interpreted carefully: even claims about ancient apostolic relics or seats have sometimes remained disputed.
Catholic understanding of apostolic authority is broader than material remains. The Church’s apostolic character concerns its continuing witness to the faith received from the apostles and its life within Tradition; the International Theological Commission cautions against reconstructing the past by isolating scriptural phrases from the living Tradition in which Scripture was received, while also affirming that historical judgments must respect historical method. Archaeology can therefore strengthen, refine, or complicate historical accounts of apostolic memory, but the evidence of a site alone cannot prove a complete theological claim about succession or jurisdiction.
The connection is clearest in the memory of Peter and the martyrs. A Holy See text describes archaeological findings at the traditional site of Peter’s tomb as supporting the longstanding conviction that he was venerated there, and relates that memory to Peter’s mission of strengthening his brothers and shepherding Christ’s flock. The material discovery and the theological interpretation are related, but they are not identical: archaeology can illuminate the history of devotion; the Church’s account of Peter’s authority draws on the apostolic witness as a whole.
So archaeology helps sacred memory become more historically grounded—and sometimes more complex. Its proper contribution is neither to replace faith with artifacts nor to shield cherished traditions from scrutiny, but to help the Church discern how apostolic faith was lived, remembered, and transmitted in real places and communities.