Nazanin Boniadi and Rodrigo Santoro, who are starring in the forthcoming Ben-Hur film, were blessed by Pope Francis at the Vatican.

‘Ben-Hur’ Actors Meet The Pope

Boniadi and Santoro took a break from filming Ben-Hur in Rome to attend the Papal Audience, where they met the Pope. Boniadi, best known for playing Fara on Homeland, took pictures outside the Vatican with her costar and shared a picture of herself about to receive a blessing from Pope Francis.

“With Rodrigo Santoro at the #Vatican. Thanks for an incredible experience @romadowney!,” Boniadi captioned a picture, thanking executive producer Roma Downey.

In Ben-Hur, Santoro plays Jesus, while Boniadi plays the female lead, Esther, Ben-Hur’s love. Starring in the titular role is Jack Huston, and Toby Kebbell is playing his adopted brother Messala, who throws him into slavery after falsely accusing him of treason. Morgan Freeman and Sofia Black D’Elia also star.

Ben-Hur is based on Lew Wallace’s novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. It was memorably adapted for the silver screen in 1959, starring Charlton Heston, Haya Harareet and Stephen Boyd.

Ben-Hur is slated to hit theaters Feb. 26, 2016.

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