(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 08.06.2024).- Pope Francis will meet with comedians of the field of humorism from different parts of the world. The Audience will be held in the Apostolic Palace at 8:30 am on Friday, June 14, 2024. The event — organized jointly by the Dicastery for Culture and Education and the Dicastery for Communication –, intends to establish a link between the Catholic Church and comedians.
“Give me, Lord, a sense of humor,” the Holy Father prays every day, quoting Saint Thomas More. ”It is a grace I pray for every day because it lifts you, it makes you see the provisionality of life and take things with the spirit of a redeemed soul. It is a human attitude, but it is the closest to the grace of God” (Interview with Tv2000 on November 20, 2016). The man of God is recognized because he is able to live with a sense of humor: ‘without losing realism, he enlightens others with a positive and hopeful spirit,’ wrote Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exultate, 122.
The Holy Father acknowledges the considerable impact that the art of comedy has in the world of contemporary culture. Through humoristic talent and the unifying value of laughter in the present, unique reflections are offered on the human condition and the historical situation. Moreover, the art of comedy can contribute to a more empathic and understanding world. Sacred Scripture itself “is rich in moments of irony in which they mock the presumption of self-sufficiency, of prevarication, of injustice, of inhumanity, when they are clothed with power and sometimes even with sacredness” (To Artists, June 23, 2023).
Pope Francis expressed his conviction that comedians — actors, artists, designers, writers –, have “the capacity to dream new versions of the world,” and they often do so “with irony, which is a wonderfu virtue.”
Pope Francis’ meeting with the world’s comedians intends to celebrate the beauty of human diversirty and to promote a message of peace, love and solidarity; it promises to be a significant moment of intercultural dialogue and of sharing joy and hope.
Here is the complete list of comedians invited to the meeting:
México
- Florinda Meza Garcia
- Chumel Torres
Spain
- Cristina Castaño
- Belen Cuesta Llamas
- Sara Escudero Rodriguez
- Victoria Martin
Colombia
- Paula Arcila
- Liss Pereira
- Maribel Trujillo Botello
Argentina
- Malena Guinzburg
Brazil
- Fabio Porchat
- Cristiane Werson
United States
- Stephen Colbert
- Jimmy Fallon
- Jim Gaffigan
- Whoopi Goldberg
- James Martin
- Tig Notaro
- Chris Rock
- Conan O’ Brien
Poland
- DorotaŁoskot Cichocka
Portugal
- Ricardo de Araujo Pereira
- Joana Marques
- Maria Rueff
United Kingdom
- Ian Hislop
- Stephen Merchant
Switzerland
- Hazel Brugger
East Timor
- Rivelino Barro Gonçalves
France
- Redouane Bougheraba
- François Cluzet
- Manu Payet
Germany
- Meltem Kaptan
- Annette Frier
- Michael Mittermeier
- Till Reiners
- Torsten Sträter
Ireland
- Ardal O’Hanlon
- Tommy Tiernan
- Patrick Kielty
Italy
- Max Angioni
- Lino Banfi
- Federico Basso
- Stefano Belisari [Elio]
- Alessandro Bergonzoni
- Don Giovanni Berti [Gioba]
- Enrico Bertolino
- Enrico Beruschi
- Alessandro Besentini
- Alessandro Betti
- Luca Bizzarri
- Massimo Boldi
- Luca Bonafé
- Enrico Brignano
- Jerry Calà
- Roberta Calcagno Baldini
- Gabriele Cirilli
- Raul Cremona
- Geppi Cucciari
- Pio D’Antino
- Gianluca De Angelis
- Cristian De Sica
- Maria Di Biase
- Pierfrancesco Diliberto
- Emanuela Fanelli
- Alberto Ferrari
- Maurizio Ferrini
- Nino Frassica
- Andrea Fratellini
- Giuseppe Giacobazzi
- Gene Gnocchi
- Valeria Graci
- Amedeo Grieco
- Caterina Guzzanti
- Paolo Kessisoglu
- Paolo Labati
- Maurizio Lastrico
- Roberto Lipari
- Luciana Littizzetto
- Brenda Lodigiani
- Valerio Lundini
- Andy Luotto
- Leonardo Manera
- Marco Marzocca
- Paolo Migone
- Elia Morra [Elianto]
- Corrado Nuzzo
- Silvio Orlando
- Antonio Ornano
- Enzo Paci
- Mauro Pallotta [Maupal]
- Davide Paniate
- Cochi Ponzoni
- Giacomo Poretti
- Saverio Raimondo
- Luca Ravenna
- Riccardo Rossi
- Mary Sarnataro
- Giovanni Scifoni
- Mario Simonotti
- Giovanni Storti
- Carlo Verdone
- Giovanni Vernia
- Francesco Villa
- Michele Foresta
- Giorgio Panariello
- Michele La Ginestra
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