No such thing as bad publicity
The sight of a dapper, good-looking man in a cassock is a fairly common one in Rome – and it is something the Church likes, as it presents a positive image of the priesthood.

But things have been taken to a new level after the Vatican agreed to plaster a huge photo advertisement of Jude Law dressed as a Pope on the building that houses the Apostolic Tribunal, the Church’s supreme court.

The poster of the actor (right), showing him in the title role in forthcoming TV series, The Young Pope, is mounted on the Palazzo della Cancelleria, located on one of the Eternal City’s busiest streets, the Corso Vittorio Emanuele. It is believed to be the earliest Renaissance palace in Rome, and is a World Heritage Site.

The TV series, directed by Paolo Sorrentino, which premiered in Rome last Saturday, is a mischievous tale about the first Pope from the United States, detailing his struggles with machiavellian figures in the Vatican and his deep reliance on Sister Mary, played by Diane Keaton.