ROME (REUTERS) - There have been 13 Popes named Leo in the history of the Roman Catholic Church but perhaps no visitor at the Vatican was as famous as the 'Leo' who entered on Thursday - Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio.

DiCaprio, who is known as Leo, was received by Pope Francis at the Vatican where he presented the pontiff with a gift -- a book of drawings that DiCaprio said hung above his crib as a young boy.

DiCaprio showed the pontiff paintings by Early Netherlands landscape painter Hieronymus Bosch, telling him that some of the images represent "so much to me of what's going on in the environmental movement today."

The Pope and DiCaprio share similar views on what needs to be done to tackle the climate crisis.

Last week, the 41-year-old Oscar nominee was honored at the 22nd Annual Crystal Awards held at the World Economic Forum in Davos for his foundation's support of conservation and sustainability projects.

The pope wrote a major Catholic Church document known as an encyclical last year in defense of the environment and has often said that time was running out for mankind to save the planet from the potentially devastating effects of global warming.