It is not very common for laughter to be heard in the Pope’s audiences, the tone is usually solemn and the ambient sound is almost always silence. This Friday, Francis broke protocol with a historic meeting, which was held in the imposing apostolic palace of the Vatican, with comedians from all over the world, among whom were celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Rock and the Spanish Cristina Castaño, Sara Escudero and Victoria Martín. It is the first time that a pontiff organizes an event of this type. The objective was to focus on the importance of humor and making people laugh, especially in turbulent times.
The Argentine pontiff gave them a speech in which he spoke of the need to cultivate laughter and good humor, to transmit serenity and joy to others, to help overcome difficulties and stress or to break social barriers through smiles. , among other things. “Your talent is a gift, a precious gift. Together with your smile, you spread peace, in hearts, among people, helping us to overcome difficulties and cope with everyday stress. “It helps us find relief in irony and take life with humor,” the Pope told them. And he confessed: “I like to pray every day, for more than forty years, with the words of Saint Thomas More: ‘Give me, Lord, a sense of humor.’ It is a grace that I ask for every day, because it makes me take things in the right spirit.”
Francisco also highlighted that through humor it is possible to “denounce excesses of power, give voice to invisible realities, highlight abuses or denounce inappropriate behavior,” but “without sowing alarmism or terror, anxiety or fear, as much communication does.” And he pointed out, addressing the comedians: “You awaken the critical sense by making people laugh and smile. You do it by telling life stories, narrating reality, according to your own original point of view; and so you talk to people about big and small problems.”
Bergoglio stressed that “humor does not offend, it does not humiliate, it does not pigeonhole people into their defects.” And he talked about how humor can help with inclusion. “While today communication often generates oppositions, you know how to bring together different and sometimes even opposite realities. How much we have to learn from you! The laughter of humor never goes against anyone, but is always inclusive, proactive, arouses openness, sympathy, empathy,” the pontiff noted. And he added: “In the midst of so much gloomy news, immersed as we are in so many social and even personal emergencies, you have the power to spread serenity and smiles. “You are one of the few who have the ability to speak to very different people, from different generations and cultural origins.”
The Pope also offered a lesson: “Can one also laugh at God? Of course, and this is not blasphemy, one can laugh, just as one plays and jokes with the people he loves. “It can be done, but without offending the religious feelings of believers, especially the poor.”
The hundred comedians, from all over the world, who participated in the meeting, listened with emotion and laughter to the pontiff’s praise. “When you manage to get intelligent smiles from a single spectator (what I am going to say now is not a heresy!) you also make God smile,” the Pope praised them.
“May God bless you and your art,” Francisco said goodbye. And he pointed out: “Continue encouraging people, especially those who find it most difficult to look at life with hope. Help us, with a smile, to see reality with its contradictions, and to dream of a better world.” He also asked them, with humor, to pray for him, “for”, and not “against” him.
When he finished giving his speech, the Argentine Pope greeted all the comedians one by one, who filed to the chair where the pontiff was sitting to shake his hand and exchange some comments with him.
The Spanish actress Cristina Castaño, popular for her participation in the television series The one that is coming, He thanked Francisco for the invitation and for this meeting that was set with the objective of “celebrating humor and recognizing its important work in society.” And he posted several moments of the event recorded on video on his Instagram profile. In one of them she also appears excited touring the immense Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel. The comedian also took several photos with the popular American comedian and presenter Jimmy Fallon in which the two appear sleepy-faced and joke about how early the Vatican had summoned them.
The audience began at 8:30 in the morning, but for organizational and security reasons, the Vatican usually asks audience participants to arrive well in advance.
The actress and comedian Sara Escudero also uploaded a reel to his Instagram with Fallon, one of the best-known entertainment figures in the United States, host of the famous late night which bears his name on the NBC network. The comedian and presenter Victoria Martín, queen of podcast confessional, he uploaded another photo with the American celebrity in which he commented before the meeting: “I’m in the same room as Jimmy Fallon waiting to see the Pope. I swear it’s true. Is the most random “What has happened to me in my life.”
Actress Whoopi Goldberg, who followed the Pope’s speech from the front row, joked remembering that in another meeting she had with the pontiff last year she offered him a cameo in the film Sister Act 3. “It seems like he’s a bit of a fan,” she said. And he noted that Friday’s visit was “very quick and really loving.”
Pope Francis wants to establish close relationships with the world of culture, which is “another thing that enriches people’s lives,” and that is why he called this event, with a format very similar to the meeting he held a year ago with artists and representatives of culture in the Sistine Chapel. He met with the comedians just shortly before leaving for the G7 summit that is being held these days and where Bergogio met with the leaders of the richest countries in the world and gave a speech to ask for legislation on Artificial Intelligence .
