The View’s Whoopi Goldberg was overcome with emotion as she recalled being deemed ‘very important’ by Pope Francis when she was finally introduced to the religious leader last week – after more than a decade of trying to instigate a meeting.
And it seems it wasn’t just Whoopi, 67, who was enamored by the face-to-face encounter, with the Pope, 86, thrilled to be gifted some Sister Act merchandise.
Whoopi, who played Sister Mary Clarence in the all-singing blockbuster franchise, praised the ‘amazing’ and ‘progressive’ figure, before admitting that he was ‘funny’ too.
Recalling the meeting on Monday’s show, she said: ‘You don’t always get to meet and say stuff to people, and I thought, “okay I’m going to walk into this building and I’m going to burst into flames”. As it turns out, I did not, and I brought him some stuff from Sister Act.’
Whoopi Goldberg became emotional during Monday’s episode of The View as she recalled meeting Pope Francis last week
The 67-year-old actress was lucky enough to enjoy a meet and greet with the religious figure
Whoopi had teased her meeting with the Pope on Instagram last week and said it was ‘such an honor’ to spend time with him
‘That he requested, right?’ Sunny Hostin, 54, asked as Whoopi nodded and reiterated: ‘That he asked for.’
As Whoopi came face-to-face with Pope Francis, they shook hands and he told her alongside a male translator: ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m really glad to meet you.’
‘And you. And my family,’ Whoopi replied as she introduced her daughter, Alexandrea Martin, before telling Pope Francis: ‘I wanted to say thank you for everything….’
He then told her she is ‘very important,’ to which she laughed and replied: ‘Not as important as you.’
She went on to present him with a large photograph of herself as Sister Mary Clarence, as well as a DVD and the movie’s soundtrack.
When he pointed out the red stilettos she wears in the film, Whoopi laughed and said: ‘Yes, you know, we’re trying to help bring the sisters into the 21st century, but it’s silly.’
Pope Francis then said: ‘One of the best things you can do for people is to help them to have joy and to make them laugh.’
‘Yes, I’m trying,’ she said.
As it cut back to the studio, everyone applauded, with Sunny commenting: ‘Wow!’ Ana Navarro, 51, told Whoopi: ‘You’re emotional!’
The mother-of-one explained: ‘Talking to him, he was quite amazing. He is exactly what I hoped he would be, which is a Pope for all people regardless of religion, which I really appreciated.
Whoopi revealed Pope Francis had requested some Sister Act merchandise and she happily obliged and presented him with a DVD and the movie soundtrack
The Academy Award winner described Pope Francis as ‘amazing’ and ‘progressive’
Whoopi’s daughter Alexandrea Martin was lucky enough to meet Pope Francis in Rome too
Whoopi said she wanted to thank the Pope ‘for all of my gay friends and for all of my divorced friends’
‘And I wanted to thank him for all of my gay friends, and for all of my divorced friends because he basically has said, “listen, God loves you no matter what, come back to the church”, I appreciated that.’
‘He’s pretty progressive for a Pope,’ Sunny chimed in, as Whoopi continued: ‘He’s very progressive. He’s a human being, as it turns out, which is what I really liked and he is doing his best to be a human for everybody.
‘Because he knows that we’re all flawed. He’s flawed, I’m flawed, you’re flawed, but he’s like, “listen, we can bring the best we can, bring the best of us”.
‘So, I don’t know that it’s going to jump me back into church, but what it did was it gave me good reason to not abandon… there’s something there, and it’s there for everybody, whatever your religion, it doesn’t matter.’
Ana asked if he has ‘much of a sense of humor’, to which Whoopi replied: ‘He is funny!’
Alyssa Farah Griffin, 34, admitted she was ‘obsessed’ with the fact that Pope Francis knew about the Sister Act films.
‘Listen, I don’t know what any of it means, but I know that I feel better because I feel like somebody up there likes me… that’s the best way I can put it,’ Whoopi said, before confirming the Pope ‘looked fine’ when quizzed on his health.
Whoopi teased her ‘remarkable’ experience on Instagram – and appeared to flaunt the idea of Sister Act 3 taking place in the Vatican City.
She asked her 1.3 million followers to ‘picture Sister Act and all the nuns standing here and waiting for the Pope to come out’ as she stood in front of St. Peter’s Square.
She continued: ‘Maybe that’s going to happen in the movie – you never know. But we are in Rome and we are in Vatican City.’
The TV star told her co-hosts – including Sara Haines – that Pope Francis was ‘funny’ and had a good sense of humor
Whoopi played the role of Sister Mary Clarence/Deloris Van Cartier in Sister Act and Sister Act 2
Dame Maggie Smith starred alongside Whoopi as Reverend Mother in both films
Whoopi, who attended a Catholic school, is currently gearing up to get back in the habit for a third instalment of Sister Act, 30 years after she hit screens as singer Deloris Van Cartier, who launched a choir after taking refuge in a convent while escaping from a mob.
She is desperate to get her former co-star Dame Maggie Smith to reprise her role as Mother Superior, insisting she ‘just can’t do it’ without her.
Disney officially announced in 2020 that a follow up to 1992’s Sister Act and 1993’s Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit was in the works.
‘For a long time, they kept saying no one wanted to see it. And then quite recently, it turns out, that may not be true,’ Whoopi said during an appearance on The Late Late Show With James Corden in October 2020.
‘People may want to see it. So, we’re working diligently to try to figure out how to get the gang together and come back.’
