German Cardinal Gerhard Müller said he spent an entire day on the film set of Mel Gibson’s The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One, discussing the theology of the Resurrection with the Australian filmmaker. Source: OSV News.
The film, a sequel to Gibson’s 2004 blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, is scheduled for release on May 6, 2027, the feast of the Ascension of the Lord.
“We spoke for some hours. We spent together the whole day,” Cardinal Müller said, adding that the conversation covered the theological and biblical meaning of the Resurrection as well as “the situation of Christianity, Christian faith in the world of today”.
Cardinal Müller, 78, led the Vatican’s doctrine office, then called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, from 2012 to 2017 under Popes Benedict XVI and Francis. He was among the cardinal electors in the 2025 conclave that chose Pope Leo XIV.
He said his presence on the movie set there was less unusual than it might appear, given the Catholic Church’s teaching that bishops and cardinals are successors to the apostles depicted in the film.
“The film is not only about a historical event 2000 years ago, but about the present Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, present as head of the Church for all the believers,” he said.
Cardinal Müller was joined on set by other religious leaders, including United States Cardinal Raymond Burke, evangelist Rev Franklin Graham and Pastor Samuel Rodriguez.
Cardinal Burke called the project’s predecessor, The Passion of the Christ, “truly monumental, a story which touched profoundly the hearts of many.”
The original film, starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus and shot largely in Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin, depicted the final 12 hours of Jesus’ life, from his trial through the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
Unlike its predecessor, The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One will be in English. It stars Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen as Jesus and Cuban actress Mariela Garriga as Mary Magdalene.
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Cardinal Muller spent hours with Mel Gibson on the film set of ‘The Resurrection of the Christ’ (By Courtney Mares, OSV News)
