WATCH: Leonardo DiCaprio greets Pope Francis in Italian and kisses his ring during meeting to discuss the environment at the Vatican 

By Associated Press

Published: 09:35 EST, 28 January 2016 | Updated: 23:52 EST, 28 January 2016

Leonardo DiCaprio greeted Pope Francis at the Vatican Thursday, discussed their shared concern over the environment and gave the pontiff a check from his charitable foundation.

'Your Holiness, thank you for granting me this private audience with you,' DiCaprio said in Italian as he arrived in the Apostolic Palace and kissed the pope's ring.

Later, in English, DiCaprio offered Francis a book of works by the 15th-century Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch, and showed him the reproduction of Bosch's 'Garden of Earthly Delights' that had hung over his crib as a child. 

The triptych, which DiCaprio has referred to in the past, depicts Adam and Eve in the first panel, a teeming landscape in the center panel, and finally a vision of hell.

Hollywood comes to the Vatican: Pope Francis met with actor Leonardo DiCaprio during a private audience in the pontiff's private studio on Thursday

Hollywood comes to the Vatican: Pope Francis met with actor Leonardo DiCaprio during a private audience in the pontiff's private studio on Thursday

Sign of respect: The actor kissed the pope's ring as he arrived and left the Apostolic Palace

Sign of respect: The actor kissed the pope's ring as he arrived and left the Apostolic Palace

Greeting: The actor initially addressed the pope in Italian, then relied on a translator 

Greeting: The actor initially addressed the pope in Italian, then relied on a translator 

'As a child I didn't quite understand what it all meant, but through my child's eyes it represented a planet, the utopia we had been given, the overpopulation, excesses, and the third panel we see a blackened sky that represents so much to me of what's going in in the environment,' DiCaprio told the pope.

DiCaprio said he thought the painting also represented Francis' environmental concerns.

Francis' encyclical Laudato Si (Praise Be) has been embraced by environmentalists for its denunciation of the world's fossil fuel-based economy and its demand for greener energy sources.

An assistant then handed Francis an envelope and explained it was a check from the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation for the pope to use for charity works 'close to your heart.'

See more of the latest on Leonardo DiCaprio as he meets Pope Francis at the Vatican

Gift: Pope Francis browsed through the book of paintings by Hieronymus Bosch he was presented by The Revenant star

Gift: Pope Francis browsed through the book of paintings by Hieronymus Bosch he was presented by The Revenant star

DiCaprio, nominated for an Oscar for his role in The Revenant, is a longtime environmental campaigner who in 1998 launched his foundation to support initiatives aimed at sustainability. 

He recently addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, announcing the foundation was donating another $15 million to environmental projects and pleading with business leaders to battle global warming.

Francis gave DiCaprio a leather-bound copy of Laudato Si and his earlier document, The Joy of the Gospel. 

Big issues: The pair discussed their shared concern over the environment and Leonardo gave the pontiff a check from his charitable foundation

Big issues: The pair discussed their shared concern over the environment and Leonardo gave the pontiff a check from his charitable foundation

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