Pope Leo XIII Carried through the Vatican Loggia on His Way to the Sistine Chapel

Pope Leo travelling through the Vatican, extending his blessing well beyond

Pope Leo XIII, although very conservative on some issues, was by all accounts sympathetic to scientific progress, especially where it helped deliver the church’s message. How better to deliver the message of the church than to distribute the Pope’s blessing far beyond its usual bounds of the Vatican through the medium of the moving image? This film, one of a series shot by WKL Dickson, shows the Pope travelling though the Vatican.

It’s probably no coincidence that Pope Leo XIII was also the first Pope to have his voice recorded by the phonograph.