A little bit of football spirit also arrives in the Vatican on the day of the European Championship opening match. Comedian Michael Mittermeier gives the Pope a – colorfully striking – gift at an audience.
Just a few hours before the opening match of the European Championship, Pope Francis was given a jersey from the German national football team. Comedian Michael Mittermeier presented the Pontiff with the bright pink and dark purple away jersey of the DFB selection at an audience on Friday, on which he had the name “Francis” and the number 10 embroidered. “The number 10 because of Maradona, who was also Argentinian, and of course because of the Ten Commandments,” Mittermeier (58) told the German Press Agency afterwards. “I made the Pope laugh.”
The comedian and his wife were invited to an audience for humorists from all over the world in the Vatican. After a speech by Francis, Mittermeier presented the head of the Catholic Church with the vest and exchanged a few words. “We thought we would bring him a gift. And then we thought of that. I actually wanted to ask him whether that was really the hand of God with Maradona back in 1986. But I let that go. It was enough for me that he laughed.”
Mittermeier alongside stars like Whoopi Goldberg and Chris Rock
Francis (87) is a football fan. He thanked for the jersey, which a staff member took from him – as is customary with gifts during audiences – and passed to the back. American star comedians such as Whoopi Goldberg, Chris Rock, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien were also present at the audience. Annette Frier, Meltem Kaptan, Till Reiners and Torsten Sträter were also invited from Germany.
Mittermeier, who was sitting in the second row in the Vatican’s magnificent hall, reported that it was an “emotional meeting.” He also said that he asked the Pope to bless his four dead children. The Upper Bavarian and his wife had four stillborn children, as he first described last year. “The Pope shook my hand. I’m not the most religious person, but there is some energy.”
Source: Stern
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