Pope Francis to host prominent comedians at the Vatican including Whoopi Goldberg

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VATICAN CITY. Pope Francis is set to welcome a distinguished group of international comedians to the Vatican on Friday, June 14, the Holy See Press Office announced on Saturday. Household names such as Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Conan O’Brien, Chris Rock, and Whoopi Goldberg will be among the attendees.

The audience, organized by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education and the Dicastery for Communication, will take place in the Apostolic Palace at 8:30 a.m. More than 100 entertainers are expected to attend, with the event aimed at “establishing a link” between the Catholic Church and artists, according to the press release.

Promoting Joy, Peace, and Hope

The meeting aims to “celebrate the beauty of human diversity” and promote a message of peace, love, and solidarity. It “promises to be a moment of meaningful intercultural dialogue and sharing of joy and hope,” the press release noted.

Famous comedians from the United States, including Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Conan O’Brien, Whoopi Goldberg, and Chris Rock, will be in attendance. Additionally, comedians from around the world, particularly from the UK, Ireland, and Italy, will be present, with Italians making up two-thirds of the participants.

‘Lord, Give Me a Sense of Humor’

The announcement recalled Pope Francis’s interview with the Italian TV channel TV2000, where he mentioned that he prays daily with the words of St. Thomas More, asking the Lord to grant him a sense of humor.

In the past, Pope Francis has recognized the power of comedy to foster empathy and sympathy. During a June 2023 encounter with artists in the Sistine Chapel, he observed that Scripture itself is rich in moments of irony. The Pope expressed his belief that humorists, including actors, artists, cartoonists, and writers, have “the ability to dream up new versions of the world,” often doing so “with irony, which is a wonderful virtue.”

Full List of Participating Comedians

Argentina

  1. Malena Guinzburg

Brazil

  1. Fabio Porchat
  2. Cristiane Werson

Colombia

  1. Paula Arcila
  2. Liss Pereira
  3. Maribel Trujillo Botello

France

  1. Redouane Bougheraba
  2. François Cluzet
  3. Manu Payet

Germany

  1. Meltem Kaptan
  2. Annette Frier
  3. Michael Mittermeier
  4. Till Reiners
  5. Torsten Sträter

Ireland

  1. Ardal O’Hanlon
  2. Tommy Tiernan
  3. Patrick Kielty

Italy

  1. Max Angioni
  2. Lino Banfi
  3. Federico Basso
  4. Stefano Belisari [Elio]
  5. Alessandro Bergonzoni
  6. Don Giovanni Berti [Gioba]
  7. Enrico Bertolino
  8. Enrico Beruschi
  9. Alessandro Besentini
  10. Alessandro Betti
  11. Luca Bizzarri
  12. Massimo Boldi
  13. Luca Bonafé
  14. Enrico Brignano
  15. Jerry Calà
  16. Roberta Calcagno Baldini
  17. Gabriele Cirilli
  18. Raul Cremona
  19. Geppi Cucciari
  20. Pio D’Antino
  21. Gianluca De Angelis
  22. Cristian De Sica
  23. Maria Di Biase
  24. Pierfrancesco Diliberto
  25. Emanuela Fanelli
  26. Alberto Ferrari
  27. Maurizio Ferrini
  28. Nino Frassica
  29. Andrea Fratellini
  30. Giuseppe Giacobazzi
  31. Gene Gnocchi
  32. Valeria Graci
  33. Amedeo Grieco
  34. Caterina Guzzanti
  35. Paolo Kessisoglu
  36. Paolo Labati
  37. Maurizio Lastrico
  38. Roberto Lipari
  39. Luciana Littizzetto
  40. Brenda Lodigiani
  41. Valerio Lundini
  42. Andy Luotto
  43. Leonardo Manera
  44. Marco Marzocca
  45. Paolo Migone
  46. Elia Morra [Elianto]
  47. Corrado Nuzzo
  48. Silvio Orlando
  49. Antonio Ornano
  50. Enzo Paci
  51. Mauro Pallotta [Maupal]
  52. Davide Paniate
  53. Cochi Ponzoni
  54. Giacomo Poretti
  55. Saverio Raimondo
  56. Luca Ravenna
  57. Riccardo Rossi
  58. Mary Sarnataro
  59. Giovanni Scifoni
  60. Mario Simonotti
  61. Giovanni Storti
  62. Carlo Verdone
  63. Giovanni Vernia
  64. Francesco Villa
  65. Michele Foresta
  66. Giorgio Panariello
  67. Michele La Ginestra

Mexico

  1. Florinda Meza García
  2. Chumel Torres

Poland

  1. Dorota Łoskot-Cichocka

Portugal

  1. Ricardo de Araujo Pereira
  2. Joana Marques
  3. Maria Rueff

United Kingdom

  1. Ian Hislop
  2. Stephen Merchant

Spain

  1. Cristina Castaño
  2. Belen Cuesta Llamas
  3. Sara Escudero Rodriguez
  4. Victoria Martin

United States

  1. Stephen Colbert
  2. Jimmy Fallon
  3. Jim Gaffigan
  4. Whoopi Goldberg
  5. James Martin
  6. Tig Notaro
  7. Chris Rock
  8. Conan O’Brien

Switzerland

  1. Hazel Brugger

Timor Leste

  1. Rivelino Barro Gonçalves

The event is poised to be a unique and joyous occasion, fostering a significant cultural exchange and spreading a message of hope and unity through the universal language of laughter.

With inputs from the Vatican News

Author profile
Paraluman P. Funtanilla
Contributing Editor

Paraluman P. Funtanilla is Tutubi News Magazine's Marketing Specialist and is a Contributing Editor.  She finished her degree in Communication Arts in De La Salle Lipa. She has worked as a Digital Marketer for start-up businesses and small business spaces for the past two years. She has earned certificates from Coursera on Brand Management: Aligning Business Brand and Behavior and Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content. She also worked with Asia Express Romania TV Show.