NEW YORK — Al Pacino, who met Pope Leo XIV last week at the Vatican and gave the Pontiff a model car, is said to have renewed his faith after a near-death experience.

Pacino, 85 — in Italy filming “Maserati: The Brothers” with Anthony Hopkins, Andy Garcia and Jessica Alba — was accompanied by producer Andrea Iervolino

“Pacino almost died from COVID a couple of years ago and since then has returned to his roots by reexamining his faith,” a source said. “His audience with His Holiness was filled with talk about films and spirituality.”

Pacino had never met any previous popes. Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, is the first American pontiff.

“The Pope was very taken with Al Pacino,” said my source. “He is a fan apparently.”

Al Pacino and film producer Andrea Iervolino meet Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Monday.

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Troshawn McCoy is happy to be out of prison after 22 years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit. He and his three co-defendants won $50 million from the city of Chicago.

But McCoy said that no amount of money could ever make up for the loss of those years.

“There are two things in this world that money can’t buy — love and time,” he told me.

McCoy has a memoir, still untitled, coming out in August, and a documentary is in production.

He and his wife recently launched The Troshawn & Dana McCoy Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to serving other families impacted by wrongful convictions.

“We want to put smiles on kids’ faces,” McCoy said.

“I’m in a race against time, and I have to make the most of the time I have left,” he said. “Spending time being angry, it would just make it that much worse. I have to move on. If I stayed in that space, I would be miserable.”

McCoy was the first of four teenagers arrested in Chicago in 1995 for a double murder and robbery. Despite the lack of physical or forensic evidence linking the teens to the crime, all were convicted.

They were exonerated in 2017.

The actual murderers are still free, and will likely remain so.

“The prosecutors would have to use the same evidence they used to frame us, and it’s tainted,” McCoy said.

His case has eerie parallels to the Central Park 5, who were wrongly convicted of raping a jogger in 1989, and won $41 million after spending a decade in prison.

McCoy said, “I was robbed of my young adulthood, almost like a time glitch, where you look up and your life is just starting at 37 years old.”

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Lawyer Arthur Aidala, who represents Harvey Weinstein, thinks Sean Combs has even less chance for acquittal.

The video of Combs wearing just a towel while knocking down his then-girlfriend Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, and dragging her across the floor by her hair, will be impossible for jurors to ignore, according to Aidala.

“Harvey is like a choir boy compared to Sean Combs,” Aidala said. “That video is such a Mount Everest. It’s devastating.”

Aidala thinks that all the testimony about the orgies Combs organized, with degrading sex acts, will help convict him.

“There are people who are into that,” Aidala said. “But it is hard for a typical juror to understand that a woman would want to be treated this way.”

Ventura was with Combs for over 11 years.

Combs’ estimated net worth is $400 million, according to Forbes, about half of what he had in 2019.

Aidala guessed he’d already spent more than $25 million on legal fees.

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Book lovers will gather Aug. 9 at the East Hampton Public Library’s annual Author’s Night to meet some authors and buy their books.

Christie Brinkley will be hawking her memoir “Uptown Girl.” Tripp Whetsell will plug his biography of “All in the Family” producer Norman Lear, and Richard Esposito will be signing copies of his bio of legendary Daily News columnist Jimmy Breslin.

Robert A. Caro will be there celebrating the 50th anniversary of “The Power Broker,” his 1,162-page biography of the urban planner Robert Moses.

Susan Morrison will sign copies of her bio on “Saturday Night Live” legend Lorne Michaels.

Also expected are Alec Baldwin’s wife, Hilaria, and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

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Mark Sendroff and Walter Marks, who wrote the score for the Broadway musical “Bajour,” reunited with one of their leading ladies, Nancy Dussault, after more than 60 years, at Patsy’s Restaurant.

The three bumped into David Lawrence and his wife, Faye. David’s parents, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, starred in another of Walter’s Broadway musicals, “Golden Rainbow.”

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Drake, Doja Cat, and A$AP Rocky have all performed at parties hosted by NYC Party Guide’s co-founders Yuval Eder and Tal Goldfus.

The dynamic duo will host five parties to celebrate the 4th of July, including two cruises on the Nautical Empress Yacht and the Star of the Northeast, with front-row seats to the legendary Macy’s Fireworks Show on the East River in front of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge.

For guests who prefer the land to the sea, they are giving a bash at the Public Hotel on July 3 and a rooftop extravaganza the following night at the Hotel Hugo Soho with a perfect view of the fireworks.

For more information go to nycpartyguide.com

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Han Solo, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker were cheered on as the NY Philharmonic presented “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert,” with the orchestra performing John Williams’ score live to the film.

Conductor Sarah Hicks encouraged the audience to root out loud for their favorite characters as the film unfolded and Darth Vader pursued Luke, who was studying the ways of the Force with Jedi Master Yoda. Comedian D’yan Forest, top plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Berlet and his podcaster wife Kerry Berlet, and celebrity hairdresser Chaz Dean led the standing ovation.

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The Museum of Modern Art’s director Glenn Lowry, who will retire soon after an extraordinary 30-year tenure, got an epic send-off at the museum’s Party in the Garden.

Guests included MoMA Board President Sarah Arison, Chair Marie-Josée Kravis, Michael Bloomberg, Agnes Gund, Michael Ovitz, and Jimmy Choo’s Tamara Mellon.

Marina Abramović, LaToya Ruby Frazier, and Derrick Adams were among the artists in attendance.

This year’s benefit was sponsored by Tory Burch, who dressed several attendees, including art patron Sarah Hoover.

The party unfolded across the museum’s garden and lobby with creative lighting by Bentley Meeker.

Lowry took to the mic and said, “I never imagined this journey would last this long or be so rewarding.”

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Artist Julian Schnabel presented designer and architect Peter Marino with his portrait at Tiffany’s, the store he recently redesigned to the tune of $500 million.

Because of Marino’s signature black leather biker look, the artist revealed, “It only took me two hours to paint Peter.”

Marino received the Medal of Excellence from Carnegie Hall at the jewelry store made famous by Audrey Hepburn in the film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

Among those applauding were “Risks and Returns” author Wilbur Ross and his wife Hilary Geary, Rashid Johnson, Cornelia Guest, Steve Schwarzman, Jane Holzer, Larry Gagosian, Leon Black and Vito Schnabel.

Chef Daniel Boulud prepared the benefit dinner for 200 guests.

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Christian Siriano, who has designed red-carpet looks for A-listers including Jennifer Lopez, Ariana Grande and Oprah Winfrey, is now creating custom furniture.

His line, Siriano Interiors, which he describes as “dramatic, elegant, and a little unexpected,” will be displayed at Holiday House Hamptons — the organization’s summer showcase in Water Mill.

His favorite piece is inspired by the movie “Beauty and the Beast.” Siriano said, “It feels like the wardrobe is going to come alive and get you dressed.”

The showhouse, which features 15 top designers, opens July 13 and runs through Aug. 17. All proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Siriano told me, “Holiday House felt like the perfect fit. It’s where bold design meets a great cause, and that’s totally my world.”

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