Pope Francis hosts Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, 100 other comedians in Vatican

Vatican City: Before flying to Italy’s southern Puglia region to meet world leaders at the 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 comedians from 15 nations, including celebrities Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Rock, Stephen Colbert and Conan O’Brien.

Pope Francis faces Stephen Colbert and Chris Rock, among others.Credit: X/EWTN/Colm Flynn

“In the midst of so much gloomy 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 laughter is contagious,” he continued, asking jokingly, “Please pray for me: for, not against!”

Francis pointed out that in the creation, “Divine wisdom practised 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 smile.”

Francis also said it was OK to “laugh at God” in the same way “we play and joke with the people we love”.

The meeting came about after a papal outreach to the world of culture.

Bishop Paul Tighe, secretary of the Vatican’s culture and education office, told the New York Times that Francis ordered his office to “build relationships with the world of culture”.

Stephen Colbert is interviewed after an audience with Pope Francis in Clementine Hall at The Vatican. Credit: AP

“Culture encompasses all the things that enrich people’s lives, and humour has the ability to puncture pomposity,” he told the Times.

After delivering 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 said afterwards.

O’Brien noted that the Pope “spoke in Italian, so I’m not quite sure what 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 throw us out?”

Colbert admitted his Italian “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 wonderful, he’ll never forget me,” he joked.

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