Actor Rodrigo Santoro, 39, met the head of the Catholic Church along with his Ben-Hur co-star Nazanin Boniadi, who plays Esther in the remake of Charlton Heston's 1959 classic.

Boniadi snapped pictures of Santoro being blessed by Pope Francis and posted them on Instagram.com along with the caption, "With Rodrigo Santoro (Jesus in #BenHur) at the #Vatican. Thanks for an incredible experience... #Rome (sic)."

The actors are currently in Italy filming the new epic, which is due for release in 2016.