Hot on the heels of an announcement that the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, is set to make his feature film debut, the Vatican has issued a statement dispelling the rumors.

KXNews reported that Monsignor Dario Vigano, the man leading the Vatican's communications operation, stated that the Pope will not be shooting scenes for the upcoming movie "Beyond the Sun," a family-themed Christian movie that the Pope is said to have personally requested.

Vigano, however, stated that though several clips of the Pope might have been acquired by the film's producers that might be used in the film, Pope Francis would definitely not be acting with the upcoming movie's cast.

"The Pope is not an actor," he said.

The rumors surrounding the Holy See's big screen debut started when Ambi Pictures, which has made feature length films such as Barry Levinson's The Humbling in the past, announced that Pope Francis has asked the studio to create a movie that would communicate Jesus' message to children, reported The Philadelphia Inquirer.

With Pope Francis' request in mind, "Beyond the Sun," a family adventure based on the Gospels, was born. According to Ambi Pictures' official press release, the upcoming film is "a family adventure story where children from different cultures emulate the apostles while searching for Jesus in the world around them."

If any, the movie seems very much like the Pope himself. Somehow unorthodox, but very clever as well. Ambi further stated that all proceeds from the movie would be going to two charities in Argentina that help at-risk children and young adults.

As far as Ambi Pictures' announcement goes, it does seem like the framework of the movie has already been set, with Ambi co-founders Andrea Iervolino and Lady Monika Bacardi financing the movie, Graciela Rodriguez writing the screenplay and Monsignor Eduardo Garcia set to become Pope Francis' advisor.

With the Vatican's announcement, however, the validity of Ambi Pictures' announcement becomes quite questionable. Then again, Pope Francis has done a number of things that are quite unusual by Vatican standards in the past. For one, he has, on several occasions, allowed himself to be filmed by his friends, in order to convey messages to private gatherings.

After all, the Vatican did admit that Abi pictures might have gotten footage of the pontiff in private. If that were indeed true, considering Pope Francis' open-minded and relatively modern approach to evangelism, then it is not unlikely at all that the Pope himself might just make a cameo appearance in Ambi Pictures' upcoming film.