Hollywood actress and producer Angelina Jolie arrived in Rome on Wednesday with daughters Zahara, 9, and Shiloh, 8, amid speculation that she will meet the Pope this week.
Sources say Jolie and husband Brad Pitt will meet Pope Francis in a "VIP meet-and-greet at the Vatican" while they are in town.
The paparazzi were on hand as the trio arrived at the Ciampino airport with their bodyguards this afternoon, and entered an awaiting black SUV. According to Us Weekly, Jolie's head of security flew out earlier to conduct a security check prior to the family's arrival.
It is unclear if Pitt is already in Rome or will arrive at a later date.
The 51-year-old leading man was raised in the Southern Baptist faith, but does not consider himself a Christian.
"I grew up very religious, and I don't have a great relationship with religion," he told The Hollywood Reporter in a 2012 interview. "I oscillate between agnosticism and atheism."
Jolie, 39, rarely discusses her faith in interviews, but appeared to lean towards atheism in 2000 when asked if there is a God.
"For some people," she told A.V. Club. "I hope so, for them. For the people who believe in it, I hope so. There doesn't need to be a God for me. There's something in people that's spiritual, that's godlike.
"I don't feel like doing things just because people say things, but I also don't really know if it's better to just not believe in anything, either."
Jolie is also an outspoken bisexual, and sources say that she and her husband "admire the Pope" and "like the Pope's message" about LGBT tolerance.
"If someone is gay, who searches for the Lord and has goodwill, who am I to judge?" Pope Francis said in a July press conference.
In an October interview, Francis said that the bishops should support "a family that has a homosexual son or daughter... (and consider) how they can raise him or her."
Francis has been deemed one of the most liberal popes, and is increasingly popular among non-Catholics.
