Before flying to Italy's southern Puglia region to meet world leaders at ꧙the Group of Seven summit, Pope Francis hosted a very different audience at the Vatican on Friday celebrating the importance of humour.
The pontiff welcomed more than 100 c♛omedians from 15 nations, i𝓀ncluding US celebrities Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Rock, Stephen Colbert and Conan O'Brien.
“In the midst of so much gloo🐷my news,💧 immersed as we are in many social and even personal emergencies, you have the power to spread peace and smiles,” Francis told the comedians.
“You unite people, because lꦚaughter is contagious,” he continued, asking jokingly, “Please pray for me: for, not agains♐t!”
Francis pointed out that in the creation, “Divine wisdom practiced your art for the benefit of none other 🤡than God himself, the first spectator in history,” with God delighting in the works that he had made.
“Remember this,” he added. "When you manage to bring intelligent smiles to the lips of even a single spectator, you also 🥀make God s♑mile.”
Francis also said it was OK to “laugh at God” in th𓆏e same way 💞“we play and joke with the people we love.”
After deli🧔vering his speech, Francis greeted all the comedians individually, sharing laughs and jokes with some of them.
“It was 🍰great, it was very fast and really loving, and made me happy,” Goldberg sai🌳d afterward.
O'Brien note෴d that the pope “spoke in Italian, so I'm not quite sure whꦛat was said.”
“To be in that room and to be with all my fellow comedians, some of whom I've been good friends with for many years, in that environment, was quite strange," the TV host added. "All of us were thinking, how did this happen? Why are we here, and when are they going to🌠 𝓡throw us out?”
Colbert admitte📖d his Italian꧒ “is really bad, I would like to speak it better.” But he managed to remind the pope that he had done the audiobook for his memoir.
“It was wonജderful, he'll never forget me,” he joked.
