Best movies like Karol: The Pope, The Man

The newly elected Pope suffers a panic attack just as he is about to greet the faithful who have gathered to see him. His advisors, unable to convince him he is the right man for the job, call on a renowned therapist who also happens to be an atheist. But the Pope's fear of his newfound responsibility is one he must face alone. Winner Best Film at the Italian Golden Globes.

This affecting biography chronicles the life and times of prominent European philosopher John Wycliffe, who was the first to translate the Bible into English. The 14th century, Oxford University scholar often found himself caught between opposing theological, political and societal forces: He defended England's autonomy against the pontiff's authority and championed the indigent against the wealthy's abuses.

In his delirium from his return from war, Francesco Bernardone goes back in his memories to the days when he lived for parties and carnal pleasures. He slowly recovers, but after the illness he is no longer the Francesco that everybody knew. Instead of spending hours in taverns, he meditates on the beauty of God's creatures, soon renouncing his riches and his family with plans to rebuild an abandoned church and his life.

A young Catholic priest from Boston confronts bigotry, Nazism, and his own personal conflicts as he rises to the office of cardinal.

During the early 16th Century idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformation.

Works of art are disappearing, stolen by a master thief, a master of disguise. Father Brown has two goals: to catch the thief and to save his soul.

In a series of simple and joyous vignettes, director Roberto Rossellini and co-writer Federico Fellini lovingly convey the universal teachings of the People’s Saint: humility, compassion, faith, and sacrifice. Gorgeously photographed to evoke the medieval paintings of Saint Francis’s time, and cast with monks from the Nocera Inferiore Monastery, The Flowers of St. Francis is a timeless and moving portrait of the search for spiritual enlightenment.

A dramatized biography of William Tyndale, the 16th Century reformer determined to translate the Bible into English, which illegal act set him at odds with the Catholic Church, Sir Thomas More and King Henry VIII.

A 9th century woman of English extraction born in the German city of Ingelheim disguises herself as a man and rises through the Vatican ranks.

A celebrated painter receives a visit from a cardinal's assistant, who informs him that his mother could become a saint.

Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His diplomatic status in a Catholic country prevents Colonel Kappler from openly arresting him, but O'Flaherty's activities become so large that the Nazi's decide to assassinate him the next time he leaves the Vatican. O'Flaherty continues his work in a variety of disguises. Based on a true story. Written by John Vogel

All eyes focus on the Vatican, watching for the traditional puffs of white smoke that signal the election of the next Pope. This time much more is at stake. The new pontiff may be the only person who can bring peace to a world on the brink of nuclear nightmare.

Elizabeth Bayley Seton, America's first native-born saint and founder of the Sisters of Charity, is the subject of this inspiring biopic. After the tragic death of her husband, Seton converts to Catholicism. Once again, she suffers terrible loss when two of her children die, but goes on to found the American Sisters of Charity and the first American Catholic schools. Seton died in 1826 and was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1975.

The mesmerizing story of a young girl's romance with God. Her faith, trials, and sacrifices reveal a way of life based on love and simplicity. A contemplative film based on the true story of Saint Therese of Lisieux, the most popular saint of modern times.

Hell and Mr. Fudge is an 2012 American drama film directed by Jeff Wood and written by Brian Phillip Stoddard. Based on a true story, the film stars Mackenzie Astin as Edward Fudge, an Alabama preacher who has been hired to determine the existence of hell.

This heroic story follows the life of Karol Wojtyla, a Polish Roman catholic who ascends the throne of St. Peter as Pope John Paul II. As a young boy, Karol is a bright and talented student. Archbishop Sapieha recognizes the very special, moving qualities Karol possesses and encourages him to consider the priesthood. Although determined to study Polish literature, Karol turns to the church; he is ordained and studies in Italy, France, and Belgium. Torn by fear and repression in post-Stalin Eastern Europe, Karol becomes a poisonous thorn in the communists' side. His deer reverence and commitment return him to Poland as Pope John Paul II.

Frustrated with the direction of the church, Cardinal Bergoglio requests permission to retire in 2012 from Pope Benedict. Instead, facing scandal and self-doubt, the introspective Pope Benedict summons his harshest critic and future successor to Rome to reveal a secret that would shake the foundations of the Catholic Church.

The Vatican sends a priest to verify some miracles, performed by a woman who has been nominated for sainthood...

Challenged by a new student, tutor and theorist Galileo co-opts emerging telescope technology and discovers irrefutable proof of the heretical notion that the earth is not the center of the universe. But in a rigid society ruled by an uneasy alliance of aristocracy and clergy already undermined by the Plague and the Reformation, science is a threat and enlightenment is a luxury. Faced with either death at the hands of the Inquisition or recantation to a hypocritical but all-powerful Papacy, Galileo must choose between his own life and the restless scientific curiosity that he has spurned family, friends, and wealth to pursue.

In 13th century Italy, Francis Bernardone, the son of an Assisi merchant, renounces a promising army career in favor of a monastic life and starts his own religious order, sanctioned by the Pope.

The vows of an ambitious young American priest are tested during World War II. Not only does Father John Flaherty get involved with the black market to raise money for the Vatican, he also falls in love with a young French nun.

We follow the daily activities of Mother Teresa and her nuns, in service to the poor of India and the world. Mother Teresa attends to the basic needs of her nuns and the poor, while at the same time, balances her role as world-recognized leader. Throughout the film, we witness personal and "behind-the-scenes" events, including the blessing ceremony of a nun becoming part of Mother Teresa's "Sisters of the Poor" convent.

The life of the pope John-Paul II, from his youth as a writer, actor, and athlete in war-torn occupied Poland to his election as Pope at the age of 58.

Learn how one man reluctantly took on the most powerful institution of his day and won. Martin Luther is credited with expounding a new vision of man's relationship with God and, by extension, a redefinition of man's relationship with authority. Filmed across Europe -- from the rustic rural Germany to the opulence of the Vatican City -- you'll witness the collapse of the medieval world and the birth of the modern age.

Fleeing from his enemies in the Catholic Church, the free thinking philosopher, poet and scientist Giordano Bruno has found some protection in Venice. But the Roman Inquisition, fearing his influence in Europe, wants to bring him on trial for 'heresy'.

The life of St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) as related by followers who gather after his death to tell stories so that Leone can record them: a privileged and virile youth, a prisoner of war, an heir who turns away from his father and gives all to the poor, a beggar for others, and an inspiration to friends who accept the Gospels' life of poverty.

In the 16th century, the daughter of a Spanish nobleman joins a convent and becomes a spiritual leader.

Most of us know Billy Graham as the self-assured and charismatic preacher who became one of the most important figures of 20th Century Christianity. Now, with the release of Billy: The Early Years, we meet Billy as the earnest and promising young man at the crossroads of faith and doubt, ultimately facing the moment of decision that launched one of history’s most powerful evangelistic careers.

Docudrama tracing the life of Saint Faustina Kowalska, whose visions of Jesus Christ inspired the Roman Catholic devotion to the Divine Mercy and earned her the title of "Apostle of Divine Mercy".

Rome, 1943. The city is occupied by the Nazis. The lives of thousands of Jews are in danger, and in Vatican City, a neutral state within the borders of Rome, Pope Pius XII is struggling to save the city from hunger and destruction.

The eventful life of a humble Polish priest who once decried the pomp of the Catholic Church "a circus" and labeled the Pope a "prisoner of the Vatican" before ascending to the papal throne to usher Catholicism into the 21st century. Born in Poland and forced to carry on following the untimely death of his family, Karol Wojtyla endured both personal hardships and the rape of his homeland by the Third Reich to spread the word of God through the Catholic Church. Later, as Pope John Paul II, Wojtyla was beloved by millions of Catholics worldwide. From the sexual-abuse scandal that shook the American Catholic Church in the later-20th century to the murder of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero and the near-fatal assassination attempt made on his own life, Pope John Paul II endured to bridge the gap between various faiths until his death resulting from Parkinson's disease in April of 2005.

Faustina is a 1995 Polish film directed by Jerzy Łukaszewicz about Blessed Sister Faustina Kowalska, a saint of the Roman Catholic Church who was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000. It is the first feature film of its kind in Poland, and far from the path of modern cinema.

An epic feature film on the famous "Apostle of Rome" and great friend of youth in the 16th century. One of the most popular saints of all time, St. Philip Neri was widely known for his great charity, deep prayer life, and tremendous humor. Hoping to join St. Ignatius of Loyola's new order of Jesuits and be a missionary to India, Philip was instead guided by Providence to seek out the poor and abandoned youth of Rome to catechize them in the faith and help them find a better life. He became the founder of the religious congregation, the Oratory, that worked with the youth and also labored to re-evangelize a decadent Rome.

Philippa Talbot is a talented London businesswoman who has decided to give up her position and power to become a nun. The man who loves her is in shock over her departure from his life. When Philippa arrives at Brede, a cloistered Benedictine monastery, the abbess who was responsible for convincing her to enter this vocation suddenly dies. Her successor is Catherine, a sensitive leader who's the first to tell the newcomer to the community that all nuns are to love without a preference for one over another. This becomes very difficult when Joanna, a young nun, singles Sister Philippa out and grows very attached to her.

Set in the splendor and terror of the Spanish Inquisition, Flame in the Wind tells the story of Carlos, an earnest young nobleman who is faced with a choice: the church system offers safety, protection, and respectability; the Scriptures offer Christ and salvation from sin—and with these torture and death.