{"id":53899,"date":"2025-10-30T14:41:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T14:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/?p=53899"},"modified":"2025-10-30T14:41:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T14:41:12","slug":"jonathan-roumie-meets-the-pope-there-was-just-a-kindness-on-his-face","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/learn\/jonathan-roumie-meets-the-pope-there-was-just-a-kindness-on-his-face\/","title":{"rendered":"\u30b8\u30e7\u30ca\u30b5\u30f3\u30fb\u30eb\u30fc\u30df\u30fc\u304c\u6559\u7687\u3068\u9762\u4f1a\uff1a\u300c\u6559\u7687\u306e\u9854\u306b\u306f\u512a\u3057\u3055\u304c\u6ea2\u308c\u3066\u3044\u305f\u300d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n Actor Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus in \u201cThe Chosen.\u201d \/ Credit: EWTN News\/Colm Flynn\/Screenshot<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

CNA Staff, Jul 1, 2025 \/ 06:00 am (CNA).<\/p>\n

When Jonathan Roumie, the actor who plays Jesus in \u201cThe Chosen,\u201d heard the news of the election of an American-born pope, he said he wept \u201cbecause I just never thought I would ever live to see the day.\u201d <\/p>\n

Two months later, on June 25, Roumie had the opportunity to meet the new Holy Father during a papal general audience while the actor was in Italy filming the crucifixion scenes for Season 6 of the popular show.<\/p>\n

Roumie sat down with EWTN News correspondent Colm Flynn for an interview just hours after meeting Pope Leo XIV to talk about playing Jesus in \u201cThe Chosen\u201d as well as what is was like to meet the pope for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was fantastic,\u201d Roumie told Flynn. \u201cHe was so kind and so gracious and generous with his time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the meeting being a bit of a \u201cblur,\u201d Roumie recalled telling the Holy Father that he was \u201chumbled to be there and it was great to meet him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pope Leo told Roumie that while one of his brothers is a fan of the show, he himself hasn\u2019t seen it yet, to which Roumie replied: \u201cWell, we brought some DVDs to help remedy that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roumie met the late Pope Francis on two separate occasions during his pontificate. In each of those meetings, Roumie had prepared a message in Spanish to share with the pope but in this meeting, he was able to communicate in his own language. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you know you can communicate with somebody in your own language, it makes all the difference,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cFor instance, I mentioned \u2014 because Pope Leo is from Chicago \u2014 I said, you know it\u2019s nice being able to throw out references like \u2018Da Bulls\u2019 and \u2018Da Bears\u2019 and him understand what I\u2019m referencing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was just a kindness on his face and just a charity about him that just moved me,\u201d Roumie said.<\/p>\n

Speaking about his time filming the Crucifixion scenes in the historic town of Matera in northern Italy, Roumie said: \u201cI\u2019ve never done anything harder than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThe impact that it\u2019s going to have on people \u2014 it\u2019s going to be so huge and so life-changing for so many people \u2026 I think it\u2019s just going to propagate the name of Jesus at a breakneck speed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the many \u201cbeautiful moments,\u201d Roumie also said he believes it will be \u201cextremely hard for people\u201d to watch.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy that point we will have had five and a half seasons of knowing Jesus as our friend, as a miracle worker, as an intimate companion, a colleague, and a teacher, and a rabbi, and having spent 45 hours of story with him healthy and OK and then to see that rapidly decline in a singular season \u2014 it\u2019s just going to be devastating.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Actor
Actor Jonathan Roumie gives Pope Leo XIV a gift on behalf of the entire cast and crew of \u201cThe Chosen\u201d after the general audience on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in St. Peter\u2019s Square at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Surrendering to Christ amid a career of instability <\/h2>\n

Roumie also shared with Flynn his story of surrender to Christ amid a career of instability. <\/p>\n

The actor first began his career in New York, where he did voice-over work and commercials. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he had a plethora of jobs while trying to make into the entertainment industry, including driving ride share, food delivery, catering, and painting houses, just to be able to pay the bills. At one point, he found himself with only $20 and didn\u2019t know where his next paycheck would be coming from. It was at this low point that he fully submitted his life and career over to God. <\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I committed my career to him and in doing so the entirety of my life, that\u2019s when my life changed,\u201d he shared. <\/p>\n

Three months later, he received the call from Dallas Jenkins, creator and director of \u201cThe Chosen,\u201d asking him if he\u2019d like to take part in a crowdfunded series about the life of Jesus and his disciples.<\/p>\n

After filming the first four episodes of Season 1, the actor recalled feeling like they were creating something that was \u201cuniquely special\u201d but had no idea just how much success it was going to have.<\/p>\n

Now having portrayed Jesus for more than five years, Roumie said he feels there is \u201calways this striving to be more like him in order to be able to play him and being falteringly human \u2014 that can feel impossible at times, but I know that I\u2019m here doing this for a reason and I\u2019m just going to continue to give him everything that I have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to do the best I can and make sure I\u2019m exercising the sacraments and going to confession and receiving the Eucharist,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\"Left
Left to Right: Simon Zee (Alaa Safi), Jesus (Jonathan Roumie), and Simon Peter (Shahar Isaac) in Season 4 of \u201cThe Chosen.\u201d Credit: The Chosen\/Mike Kubeisy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The impact of being seen as Jesus<\/h2>\n

During the interview with Flynn, Roumie also discussed the challenge of having people view him as Jesus. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo many people say to me, \u2018You\u2019re exactly what I would have pictured if I met Jesus,\u2019\u201d he said, \u201cand so they impose or project that relationship that they have or those ideas or those expectations on a subconscious level, or maybe an even semiconscious level, onto me to an extent.\u201d<\/p>\n

When fans of the show start to call Roumie \u201cJesus,\u201d he explained that he makes sure to say his own name to them \u201cto remind them that there is a line of demarcation.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said these experiences also make him much more aware of \u201can implied level of accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m being held to the standards of Jesus, or being seen as somebody that is at least trying to live out those standards in their life, well, that\u2019s great because it\u2019s just better for me spiritually to be living in that manner,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, it does make him think how fans might react to roles he takes beyond \u201cThe Chosen.\u201d He did point out, however, that he wouldn\u2019t do anything \u201cthat goes against my beliefs or anything like that or a character that just doesn\u2019t sit right with me or that I don\u2019t discern with the Lord before I commit to a project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking to what has made him the most proud of being a part of \u201cThe Chosen,\u201d the actor highlighted the \u201cimpact of the show and the reality of what it\u2019s doing for people \u2014 the reality of how God is using it to encounter people.\u201d<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/265095\/jonathan-roumie-meets-the-pope-there-was-just-a-kindness-on-his-face<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Actor Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus in \u201cThe Chosen.\u201d \/ Credit: EWTN News\/Colm Flynn\/Screenshot CNA Staff, Jul 1, 2025 \/ 06:00 am (CNA). When Jonathan Roumie, the actor who plays Jesus in \u201cThe Chosen,\u201d heard the news of the election of an American-born pope, he said he wept \u201cbecause I just never thought I would ever live to see the day.\u201d\u00a0 Two months later, on June 25, Roumie had the opportunity to meet the new Holy Father during a papal general audience while the actor was in Italy filming the crucifixion scenes for Season 6 of the popular show. Roumie sat down with EWTN News correspondent Colm Flynn for an [\u2026]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":67882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-53899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-news"],"mb":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Jonathan-Roumie-meets-the-pope-%E2%80%98There-was-just-a-kindness-on-his-face.webp?fit=800%2C414&quality=75&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"mfb_rest_fields":["title","jetpack_publicize_connections","jetpack_featured_media_url","jetpack-related-posts","jetpack_sharing_enabled"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53899"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=53899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}