Vatican Dec. 8 (US): Oscar-winning Italian actor and model Roberto Benigni brought a little bit of his trademark quirky to the Vatican on Wednesday, prompting Pope Francis to do so.
Benigni held a private meeting with the Pope in front of his weekly general audience and there was laughter all around.
When Benigni cracked that the pope was “prestigious… emitting light,” the pope replied, “Don’t exaggerate!”
Benigne regretted, “I must be exaggerating, I’m glad to be here.”
The comedian met up with the Pope to give him a set of DVDs for his new show on the life of St. Francis of Assisi, titled “Francis, Canticle,” which is streaming on the Paramount Plus service.
Besides his comedic work, Benigni, whose film Life is Beautiful won three Academy Awards in 1999, also performed on Italian poet Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy.
EAE