Whoopi Goldberg joins comedians entertaining the Pope - after offering Sister Act 3 role
The Pope got a front-row seat to his very own comedy tour as he hosted more than 100 comedians at the Vatican.
Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Rock and Stephen Colbert were among those making the trip to Rome for an audience with Pope Francis.
The 87-year-old – who recently made headlines after repeating a homophobic slur – took the time to greet the professional jokesters ahead of his appearance at the G7 summit.
He took a moment to praise those who had gathered for their ability to ‘unite people because laugher is contagious’.
‘In the midst of so much gloomy news you denounce abuses of power,’ he said, via the New York Times.
‘You give voice to forgotten situations, you highlight abuses, you point out inappropriate behavior.’
The Pope got his very own comedy performance at the Vatican earlier today (Picture: AFP)
He met with huge names including Whoopi Goldberg (Picture: AFP)
‘You can also laugh at God, of course, and that’s not blasphemy,’ he reportedly continued, commending them for doing so ‘without offending the religious feelings of believers.’
The pontiff shared that the comedians – also including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Stephen Merchant and Conan O’Brien – harnessed their ‘power to spread serenity and smiles’.
‘How much we need to learn from you,’ he added.
The group were invited to meet with the Pope as a way of ‘establishing a link’ between the stars and the Church.
Jimmy Fallon also made the trip out (Picture: AFP)
Chris Rock and Conan O’Brien were among those having an audience with the Pope (Picture: AP)
Despite being known for some very controversial jokes and colorful quips, Julia, Chris and co seemed to be very well behaved for the most part.
Following the audience, he then briefly addressed each of the 105 guests – but some weren’t quite able to understand him.
‘Well it was brief, he spoke in Italian, so I’m not quite sure what was said,’ Conan joked.
‘It was quick… I had a wonderful time.’
Whoopi also touched on whether she had gathered his thoughts on a possible role in the upcoming Sister Act 3, after previously offering him a role.
The group arrived at the Vatican this morning (Picture: AP)
‘It was great,’ she told reporters. ‘I didn’t think it was the right place to bring it up, but I’ll probably send an email.’
Whoopi stopped by to visit the pontiff last year, where she took the opportunity to ask if he was keen for a cameo in the sequel to her classic 90s flicks.
Because, of course she did…
During an appearance on the Tonight Show in May, she unpacked her 2023 journey to the Vatican last year.
Speaking to host Jimmy, she suggested that he ‘actually seems to be a bit of a fan’ of the first two movies – which were released in 1992 and 1993 respectively.
Whoopi asked the Pope to be in the upcoming Sister Act movie (Picture: Touchstone)
When asked if he could land a role in the third outing, she confessed: ‘I offered one. He said he’d see what his time was like.’
‘I wanted to thank him,’ she said of the reason behind the trip. ‘I’ve been trying to meet up with him for about 10 years. Every time I say, “Okay, we’ll do it”, I’d step in something and then I couldn’t do it and they’d cancel the appearance.
‘This is supposed to be the guy that you talk to. I like him. He’s annoyed a lot of people because he said some things that people don’t think are correct, but I do. You’re the Pope. You say, “We welcome everybody. We want everybody at our party. We’re not going to judge you. Only God judges you.”’
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
Are you a Soaps fan? For exclusive spoilers and interviews, sign up to Metro's Soaps newsletter