Sylvester Stallone Meets Pope Francis During Vatican City Visit With Family

Sylvester Stallone had the opportunity to meet Pope Francis at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City on Friday. 

Along with his brother Frank Stallone, wife Jennifer Flavin and their three daughters, Sophie, Sistine and Scarlet, the Rocky actor posed for a few photos with the head of the Catholic church during their family vacation.

The Stallone family looked sleek dressed in all-black for the special occasion, and according to Reuters, Pope Francis and the Hollywood icon even playfully sparred with one another during the meeting.

This isn't the first time the Family Stallone star has set foot in Vatican City. 

Last September, the Academy Award nominee shared a photo of himself holding the keys to the city on Instagram, captioning the snap, "Very rare and special moment. I was allowed to hold the KEYS that open EVERY single door in the entire Vatican city! Including the Sistine Chapel!" 

Stallone continued: "So glad we named our beautiful daughter this beautiful name, 'Sistine'... Of course they wouldn't let me out of their sight with the KEYS... I don't blame them!"

The actor has previously opened up about being raised in the religion and how his Rocky character's path mimicked that of his own life.

"I was raised in a Catholic home, a Christian home, and I went to Catholic schools. I was taught the faith and went as far as I could with it until one day I got out into the so-called real world," Stallone explained. "I was presented with temptation and I lost my way and made a lot of bad choices. I felt the character of Rocky sort of did that too. He just didn't have the right guidance. And then he was given an opportunity in the movie — like he was being chosen."

He continued: "I said, 'Man, if I could take my story, my feelings, and put it into the body of a boxer — because no one cares about an actor so much — the boxing is symbolism of the constant fight, and the example of Christ.' I thought, 'This would be really interesting' and that's exactly what happened. It was like an unexpected gift, really."