From the editors of Wonderwall.com
5:07 p.m. PST, December 17, 2021
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It’s party time in the Vatican! Pope Francis turns 85 on December 17, 2021, and we are sure many will pray and celebrate the birth day of the Catholic Church. Francis, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina in 1936, is known to be much less formal than previous popes and extremely humble (he spent time as a bouncer, janitor, and lab technician before being ordained a priest). This pontiff even sleeps in the guest house rather than in the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace. Read on to see His Holiness in fun and serious snapshots with famous politicians, celebrities, dignitaries and luminaries... Pope Francis met Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, who were in the audience for a United to Cure event in Vatican City in April 2018.
Read on to find out more …
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Leonardo DiCaprio and Pope Francis are both environmental champions, so they had a lot to talk about when they met in the Vatican in January 2016. Leo even handed the Catholic leader a check from his foundation to use on charities. charitable purposes of their choice.
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When Pope Francis met Angelina Jolie in January 2015, she offered him a private screening of her film “Unbroken”.
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The ultimate altruistic power trio come together! George Clooney and his wife Amal Clooney shook hands with Pope Francis in the Vatican in May 2016.
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In January 2017, Arnold Schwarzenegger met Pope Francis during the weekly general audience of the Sovereign Pontiff.
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In April 2014, His Holiness Pope Francis met British Queen Elizabeth II in the Vatican. Looks like they both had a great time!
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At the Philadelphia Festival of Families in September 2015, Catholic actor Mark Wahlberg gave an uplifting speech as Pope Francis watched.
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Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Pope Francis exchanged courtesies at the Vatican in August 2016. Everyone always seems to have a genuine smile in his presence!
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Richard Gere is also a fan of Pope Francis! He and his future wife Alejandra Silva welcomed the pontiff to the Vatican in May 2016.
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Joe Biden is the second Catholic President of the United States, so it was a momentous occasion when he and First Lady Jill Biden met Pope Francis at the Vatican in October 2021. They discussed climate change and COVID-19 in the middle of a debate raised by some Catholics wondering if the President should receive Holy Communion because he supports the right to abortion, which the Church opposes. (The Pope agreed that he should continue to receive the sacrament.)
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The Pope holds a weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. Robert Redford was present at one of them in December 2019.
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Director Martin Scorsese hosted Pope Francis in October 2018 at the end of the presentation of the book “Sharing the Wisdom of Time”, a collection of 250 interviews with old people and young people from over 30 countries – written by the Pope himself!
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In May 2016, Pope Francis spoke with Angela Merkel, then Chancellor of Germany, in the private library of the Palazzo Apostolico in Vatican City.
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US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump met Pope Francis in the private library of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City in May 2017.
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Pope Francis also met a veiled Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, in Vatican City in May 2017.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pope Francis exchanged gifts during a private audience in the Pontiff’s Library in Vatican City in November 2013.
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French President Francois Hollande and Pope Francis had a private audience in January 2014 at the Catholic leader’s studio in Vatican City. The last time a French head of state visited the Vatican was in October 2010, when then-President Nicolas Sarkozy was received by Pope Benedict XVI.
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Pope Francis met with Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire, in Vatican City in May 2017.
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The entire Obama family was all smiles when Pope Francis arrived at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland from Cuba in September 2015. It was the pontiff’s first visit to the United States as Pope. He spent time in Washington, DC, New York and Philadelphia during his visit to America.
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On the red carpet on the tarmac, then Secretary of State John Kerry bid a heartfelt farewell to the Pope as the religious leader left Washington, DC, for New York in September 2015. It was a whirlwind trip from six days in the United States for the Pope born in Buenos Aires.
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Then-US President John Boehner spoke with Pope Francis at the United States Capitol before the Pope delivered a speech at a joint congressional meeting in September 2015.
