Whoopi Goldberg said she met Pope Francis and he was a fan of her 1992 hit film, “Sister Act.”
Goldberg spoke about her experience meeting the Pope during Wednesday’s episode of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
“I went to see him and he actually seems to be a bit of a fan. ‘Sister Act,’ hello!” she said, as she connected the Pope with her character as a nun in the film. Fallon asked if the Pope planned to star in the third installment of the film, to which Goldberg replied, “No, but I offered one. He said he’d see what his time was like.”
Goldberg played a nightclub singer that disguised herself as a nun in an attempt to hide from the mob in “Sister Act,” and she said the role served her well when an opportunity to meet the Pope finally presented itself in October. She admitted she offered Pope Francis a role in the upcoming version that’s set to be released by Disney+.
She described what it was like to meet him.
“I wanted to thank him,” Goldberg told Fallon. The talk show host displayed an image of Goldberg and the Pope.
Pope Francis presides over the Vespers prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, May 9, 2024. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
Whoopi Goldberg speaks during the WorldPride 2019 Opening Ceremony, a combined celebration marking the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots and WorldPride 2019 in New York, U.S., June 26, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
“I had been trying to meet up with him for about 10 years, and God — yeah, you know. And every time I’d say ‘OK, we’ll do it’ I’d step in something, and then I couldn’t do it and they’d cancel the appearance,” Goldberg said.
“But I stayed really good and I didn’t get in any trouble.”
The host of “The View” explained that she respected the Pope’s progressive leadership.
Pope Francis gestures on the day of the weekly general audience, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, May 8, 2024. REUTERS/Ciro de Luca
Actor Whoopi Goldberg during the presentation of the “Looking for Juliet” 2020 Pirelli Calendar in the northern Italian city of Verona, Italy, December 3, 2019. Picture taken December 3, 2019. REUTERS/Flavio Lo Scalzo
“This is supposed to be the guy that you talk to. I like him,” she said.
Goldberg has previously said she brought up the “Sister Act” reference. “You know, we’re trying to help bring the sisters into the 21st century,” she stated, according to Unilad. (RELATED: Pope Francis Admits He Once Fell In Love)
She reportedly described her film as being “silly,” while Pope Francis went on to say, “One of the best things you can do for people is to help them and to have joy and to make them laugh.”