You may have heard that Pope Francis recently met up with over a hundred comedians from around the world to thank them for making people smile in dark times.
Among the familiar faces were Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jim Gaffigan, and Conan O’Brien — all Catholics — as well as other big names in the entertainment world, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Whoopi Goldberg, and Chris Rock.
Colbert and Fallon have both shared their experiences of meeting the pontiff with their fans on their respective shows:The Late Show and The Tonight Show. And it’s interesting to hear their different feedback from the visit.
In the extracts from the two shows, which you can see in the YouTube videos below, both men show their delight in getting to meet Pope Francis. While Colbert explains more about how the trip came about and some other non-papal details that occurred on their brief visit, both men talk about their actual meeting with His Holiness.
Although both have slightly different takes on their meetings, it’s wonderful to see the sense of delight they had in shaking hands with the leader of the Catholic Church, with the two funny men delightedly sharing with their audiences their photos with the Pope.
Colbert and the Pope
Colbert described his meeting with Pope Francis as “profoundly moving.” However, in his true style he couldn’t resist cracking a few jokes, even at his own expense, saying the pontiff was probably thinking “we couldn’t get Tom Hanks?”
In a more serious moment Colbert talked about how the Pope made a “beautiful speech with these comforting words about what we do as comedians: ‘When you manage to draw knowing smiles from the lips of even one spectator you also make God smile.'”
This must certainly have been a very rewarding moment for Colbert, who shared with the audience: “I’ve spent a lot of my career wondering if the work that I do is compatible with my faith. The question is, does God like my comedy?”
Fallon on meeting Pope Frances
Jimmy Fallon’s feedback was slightly different from Colbert’s, offering the audience a glimpse of his genuine awe of the situation, and his childlike excitement next to his sister Gloria as he awaited the Pope.
As he pointed out:
It was overwhelming, I didn’t know what to expect … No one really tells you how to talk to the Pope. How do you address him? Do you kiss the ring? I got more instruction meeting Barbara Streisand!
He also went on to explain how the Pope wanted to “thank comedians for making people laugh and putting a smile on people’s faces during dark times.”
Fallon then shared his exchange with the pontiff, apparently saying: “I was an altar boy growing up and I was the best. If you ever need someone to ring the bells, call me.”
Interestingly he confided his feelings about the whole visit to the audience, saying: “I don’t know what emotion, I’m still processing the whole thing, but it was definitely something i’ll never forget … it was such an honor.”
To have both men share with their millions of fans their visit with the Pope in such a positive and reverent (although sometimes cheeky) manner can inspire those of faith, and those without faith, to see the honor and delight in meeting such an important religious figure.
And today we celebrate...