The Pope receives 105 international comedy stars

And from the USA alone, greats like actress Whoopi Goldberg (“Sister Act”) and presenters and comedians Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Chris Rock are here. Torsten Strater, Annette Freier, Meltem Kaptan, Michael Mittermayer and Til Rainer, as well as Swiss Hazel Brugger from German-speaking countries, have confirmed their participation. Italy is most represented with 67 people attending. But humor workers also come from France, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, England, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and even from faraway East Timor.

But why would the pope bring home all the actors, cartoonists, comedians, presenters and stand-up comedians, many of whom are more articulate with their scathing criticisms of the church than with their pious undertones? The Vatican may want to open up more to art, media and society through a meeting organized by the authorities concerned with culture, education and communications – similar to the exciting performance the Vatican gave at the Venice Biennale.

The Vatican announced that the aim of the meeting with the humor stars is to celebrate the beauty of human diversity and spread the message of peace, love and solidarity. They said they hoped for a moment of cross-cultural dialogue, joy and hope.

As is known, Torsten Sträter (57 years old) is always available for this purpose. The man wearing the hat, a Protestant Christian by origin, will arrive directly from a visit to Macedonia, where he works as an ambassador for the aid organization SOS Children's Villages, as his administration announced upon request.

Comedian Michael Mittermayer, 58, comes from the predominantly Catholic state of Bavaria, but he has plenty of critical things to say about the church. Example: The priest who was beaten at his monastery school, who would always say afterwards: “This hurts me more than it hurts you, my son.” Mittermayer announced the appointment with the Pope and the list of participants on Instagram with the words: “It's hard to believe!” in. In response to a user's comment about whether “all comedians will thank the church for several centuries of true satire,” he wrote: “Absolutely.”

Comedian Hazel Brugger, 30, who was recently honored with a German cabaret award as the “Queen of Comedian,” is also promoting the appointment with the pope: “We won't miss it,” she and her husband, Thomas Spitzer, said. On their joint podcast. They left it open if they would bring their two young daughters with them.

German-Turkish actress and comedian Meltem Kaptan (43 years old), who won several awards for her role in the film “Rabih Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush” (2022), will also be invited. Actress and comedian Annette Freer (50) from Heiligen Köln is practically the only one who has revealed her connection to the church and faith: “Prayer helps,” she told Crismon magazine. Till Rainer, 39, known from The Hot Show, was angry about church privileges; He had brought to his side the clumsy Jesus with a cross.

It's what they all say to the pope from Argentina on Friday that is most interesting – and vice versa. Francis himself often takes the opportunity to joke and laugh heartily. Only at the end of May did he invite a great comedian to World Children's Day: Oscar-winning comedian Roberto Benigni (“Life is Beautiful”) gave an endearing lecture to the Pope on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica – like goodness. Court jester. He demanded that the See of Peter be finally given to a woman. “This will be talked about on the moon,” Benigni shouted to applause in St. Peter's Square. The Pope took the matter seriously, but did not change canon law at first. After all, according to one of his quotes, Christians can be identified with their sense of humor without losing their realism.

After the comedy show, Francis will travel by helicopter to the G7 summit in Puglia on Friday. The Pope is supposed to talk there about artificial intelligence and meet some heads of state. He really enjoyed the morning.