During the audience, Francis repeatedly cited the “Prayer for Good Humor” attributed to St. Thomas More, which he said he prayed for 40 years. “Do you know this prayer? You should know,” he said.
He also shook hands with everyone present.
“I said, ‘Thank you for inviting me and God bless you,’” Ms. Louis-Dreyfus then recounted. “And he said, ‘God bless you,’ so that was something.” She added: “He spoke beautifully – I mean, they gave us a translation. So I actually think his comments were wonderful.
Whoopi Goldberg, who joked that she proposed to the pope an appearance in the film “Sister Act 3” during a meeting with him last year – “he seems to be a bit of a fan,” she offered at the time – said the visit had been ” very quick and really affectionate.” and made me happy.
Some of the comedians at Friday’s event have been involved in projects that have raised eyebrows among Catholics — including Mr. Rock, who played Rufus, “the 13th apostle,” in the 1999 film “Dogma,” which some Christian groups have criticized it as being disrespectful and blasphemous. In a interview at the timethe comedian defended the film, saying, “You’re disrespecting God even more if you’re up in arms about this.”
At the end of the audience, Francis blessed those present. “Continue to lift people’s spirits, especially those who find it hardest to look at life with hope,” he told them. “Help us, with a smile, to see reality with its contradictions and to dream of a better world!
The pontiff then returned to more serious matters: he traveled to the south of Italy to join the Group of 7 summit, a gathering of leaders from the world’s richest major democracies, for a discussion on the implications of artificial intelligence.
