No joke.
Pope Francis will take the mic in front of over 100 comics, stand-up comedians, and humorists, including Americans Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon, at the Vatican next Friday.
Jim Gaffigan, Conan O’Brien, Chris Rock, Tig Notaro, and Whoopi Goldberg are the other U.S. comedians expected to take part.
The June 14 meeting was organized by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education and Dicastery for Communication and “aims to establish a link between the Catholic Church and comic artists,” according to a June 8 press release.
As of June 8, a list of 105 comics and humorists from 15 countries had confirmed their participation in the papal audience.
The Vatican said the encounter intends “to celebrate the beauty of human diversity and promote a message of peace, love, and solidarity, and promises to be a meaningful moment of intercultural dialogue and sharing of joy and hope.”
Most of the comedians and humorists slated to participate — 67 — are from Italy, while six are from the South American countries of Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia, and 22 from European countries other than Italy. Two comedians from Mexico — Florinda Meza García and Chumel Torres — will also take part. The only Asian country represented is East Timor.
Jesuit Father James Martin is also slated to attend. Martin is the former chaplain of “The Colbert Report” and appears to be the only clergy member listed among participants in the June 14 encounter.
