Excitement and amazement at having been summoned to the Vatican, but also satisfaction at the Pope’s recognition of the social role of comedy. After the meeting with Francesco, some of the artists present in the Sala Clementina speak
Fabio Colagrande – Vatican City
It’s not usual to see a serious comedian. For this reason it was singular, on the morning of Friday 14 June in the Apostolic Palace, to observe around two hundred actresses and comedians, arriving from Italy and the world, listening to the words of Pope Francis with thoughtful, almost solemn expressions. For the first time, perhaps, artists accustomed – by profession – to not taking anything seriously, listened to a profound reflection on the importance of their art, on that “power to spread serenity and smiles” that belongs to them, as the Pope said. Laughter, Francis recalled, is “an antidote to individualism”, helps to “break down social barriers”, contributes to creating “a shared culture and spaces of freedom”. But in addition to an authoritative, and perhaps for many unexpected, recognition of their social role, comedians in the Vatican have also had the opportunity to overcome rivalries and professional competitions to find themselves together: women, men, young people, elderly people, artists close to the Catholic world and non-believers, who for a moment felt part of the same company. This is perhaps an unprecedented aspect of this first audience of the Pope with artists from the world of humor.
The meeting with the press
Immediately after the hearing, when the Turin comedian Luciana Littizzetto has just finished reciting, in front of her colleagues, the “Prayer of good mood” of Saint Thomas More, so dear to the Pope, the artists leave the Clementine Hall and cross the Lapidary Gallery of the Vatican Museums where they are awaited by journalists and television crews from all over the world. Here, the serious faces of those who are still moved by the meeting with Francis give way to a smile, to a comment of joy and amazement at that investiture received from the Pontiff: “Your talent is a precious gift”.
The satisfaction of making people laugh
Among the first to come out, Christian De Sica, son of art, protagonist of the comic film genre of the so-called “cinepanettoni”. “He IS wittier than us! He told me that after the meeting with us comedians who make us laugh he will leave by helicopter to go to the G7. In short, after those who make you laugh he went to those who make you cry. He spoke profound words to us: making people laugh in this historical period is not easy, it is a great satisfaction.” The son of Vittorio De Sica, one of the fathers of neorealism, adds a confidence from the Pope: “he told me that yesterday he watched one of his father’s films for the fifth time, Miracle in Milan. A great joy for me.”
The Pope greets the Italian actor Christian De Sica
“It was a very emotional moment. I tried to live it intensely, without reaching for my cell phone, because occasions like this rarely happen”, states a comedian of the latest generations, Luca Ravenna, stand-up comedian and Milanese podcaster. “A very lucid speech from the Holy Father, one that is rarely heard in the world of communication”. “I thought I would be invited among the comedians, since I am not a comedian”, begins the burning Bolognese humorist Alessandro Bergonzoni, tightrope walker of the word. “I am very pleased that the word ‘churches’ means ‘he asked!’. When the game becomes pure, the pure begin to play and we artists must expose ourselves as works, provoking laughter that is never consoling, but disturbing. We must create another reality that I call ‘creality’, giving space to surreal comedy.”
“Words that give meaning to our career”
“It reminded us of our responsibility as comedians, it was a beautiful morning,” adds the Genoese actor Luca Bizzarri, known for his militancy in the duo with Paolo Kessisoglu, but also a successful satirical podcaster. “We comedians punish customs, as the Pope reminded us. We denounce the excesses of power by trying to start with our own before talking about others”. “I didn’t expect the Pope to tell us that we can laugh at God too. Of course, now I have to understand how to do it!”. Michele Foresta, the comic magician Forest, host of the very popular Gialappa’s Band television show, was struck by the beauty of the Pope’s words. “These are things about our profession that perhaps I knew, but hearing them said by the Pope is something else. And then Francesco was good because he brought together a lot of sick people, because we comedians, let’s face it, are not normal”. He is joined by Giacomo Poretti, of the trio Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo, who does not spare his colleague a joke: “It’s always a thrill to meet the Pope. Of course here in the Vatican there is a nice openness, they really let everyone in!”. “When you find yourself next to a superior person like the Pope, he feels his own inferiority but you still feel good”, comments another Milanese cabaret artist, Enrico Bertolino. “These are words that give meaning to our career.”
Listen to the interviews with Mago Forest, Giacomo Poretti, Enrico Bertolino and Jerry Calà
The “mission” of comedians
“I thought this invitation was a joke,” beams the Veronese Jerry Calà, a long-standing stand-up comedian and film comedian. “I was struck by the Pope’s openness towards comedians who throughout history, we must say, have often been mistreated, it is a great re-evaluation. Ours today will be a mission: to bring laughter around the world.” “The Pope has shown that he greatly appreciates comedy which, after all, is nothing more than a way to talk about the things of life”, adds Geppi Cucciari, a comedian and television presenter from Cagliari who gave the Pope a bottle of myrtle from the earth her. “After all – she adds – there is journalism, there are analyzes and investigations and then there is comedy and when commenting on the facts of life it is normal that we comedians sometimes talk about power and denounce its excesses”. “I had always thought that making people laugh was an important task and I am happy that the Pope confirmed it,” says Elio, frontman of the group Elio e le Storie tese. “The other members of the group were jealous that I was here, but here the law of the strongest applies,” he concludes implacably.
The Pope with the Italian comedians Pio and Amedeo
The pride of bringing a smile where you suffer
Protagonists of a real show with journalists, Pio and Amedeo, a comedy duo from Foggia, capable of involving the Pope in a selfie, at the moment of the “kiss by the hand”. “It filled our hearts with pride to know that with our work, as Francesco said, we can ease the days of people less fortunate than us or who have health problems,” comments Pio. “People sometimes stop us on the street and thank us because we made them forget their problems, but hearing it recognized by the Pope was a beautiful emotion,” adds Amedeo. And both assure that the Pontiff requested the selfie. Hard to believe him.
Of course, the Pope’s joy in receiving so many comedians from all over the world was evident, among which the American actress Whoopi Goldberg and the television host Jimmy Fallon stood out. “Perhaps he is the first head of state in history to summon comedians”, notes the Roman actor Marco Marzocca, while according to his colleague Michele La Ginestra – who is preparing a show on the Apostles Peter and Paul – Francis has succeeded in an undertaking : bringing together ‘unlikely’ artists you would never have imagined in the Vatican. And who knows if it’s just the first time.
Listen to the interview with Pio and Amedeo
