Whoopi Goldberg reveals she paid an ‘exquisite’ visit to the POPE in Vatican City – and hints that Sister Act 3 may be filmed in the iconic location… one year after sparking fury from Catholics over Nancy Pelosi comments

Whoopi Goldberg has revealed she enjoyed an “extraordinary” meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican – and hinted the religious enclave could be the location of the eagerly-anticipated Third Sister Act.

The 67-year-old, who played Sister Mary Clarence in the blockbuster film franchise, flew to Italy for a meeting with the head of the Catholic Church on Thursday morning.

The meeting comes more than a year after she was criticized for comments about San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s call to deprive Nancy Pelosi of Holy Communion because of her pro-choice stance.

Whoopi teased her “extraordinary” experience with Pope Francis on Instagram, asking her 1.3 million followers to “imagine Sister Acta and all the nuns standing here waiting for the pope to come out” as she stood outside St Peter’s Square.

She continued: “Maybe it will happen in the movie – you never know. But we are in Rome and we are in the Vatican.’

Whoopi, who waited 11 years to meet the religious figure, documented her trip to the Vatican in a series of videos, the first of which saw the mother-of-one in her accommodation preparing to leave.

‘Good morning! “So we’re in Rome in a fantastic hotel and we’re on our way to the Vatican,” she said. ‘Why? You will find out…’

In the next clip, waiting in the back of the vehicle, she explained: “So we’re sitting in the car waiting for people to check us out, but this is very exciting. I’m still not saying what we’re doing because I want to enjoy this experience. As I mentioned before, we are on our way to the Vatican, we are close.’

The actress then gave the update when she revealed: ‘So I’ve just had the most amazing experience, which I’ll tell you about shortly, but now I’m getting into the Vatican car because we’re going to see something that you’ll be able to see when we get back.’

The following Instagram Story showed Whoopi standing at the tourist hotspot as she said: “St Peter’s Square… and maybe since you see it all you understand what I’m doing here.”

‘But imagine Sister Act and all the nuns standing here waiting for the Pope to come out… maybe it will happen in the new movie, you never know, you never know…

“But we are in Rome and I am in the Vatican.” What could I do? Why should I be here?’ she asked before adding, “So remember I said I’m here and we’re looking at all these different things and I think I forgot to mention I met the Pope today.” It’s quite extraordinary.’

Whoopi received the Pope on Thursday to view an exhibit called Changes, which highlights the dramatic impact of climate change.

She joked that she would present bees to the religious leader as she thanked him for his message of inclusion.

“He’s the first one to say that,” she said. “Told the people to “stop telling people that God doesn’t love them. Stop telling them not to come to Church.” You may not agree, but we all know that God does not make mistakes.’

Whoopi’s appointment comes a year after she criticized San Francisco Archbishop Cordileone’s call to deny Pelosi Holy Communion because of her pro-choice stance.

“The issue of abortion is beginning to blur the lines between church and state,” Whoopi said at the time.

“The Archbishop of San Francisco is calling for President Nancy Pelosi to be denied communion because of her pro-choice stance… This is none of your business, man. That’s not for you to make that decision.’

Whoopi received backlash for speaking to many who attacked the star, now known as X, on Twitter.

Among them was Spanish priest Father Juan Manuel Gongora who said she was “confused”, adding: “Eucharistic communion is not ‘real’.”

Whoopi, who attended a Catholic school, is currently preparing to return to the habit for the third installment of Sister Act, 30 years after she appeared on screen as singer Deloris Van Cartier, who started a choir after finding refuge in a convent while on the run from a mob .

She is desperate to get her former colleague Dame Maggie Smith to reprise her role as Mother Superior, insisting that “I just can’t” without her.

Disney officially announced in 2020 that a sequel to 1992’s Sister Act and 1993’s Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit is in the works.

“They’ve been saying for a long time that no one wants to see it.” And then quite recently, it turns out that maybe that’s not true,” Whoopi said during an appearance on The Late Late Show With James Corden in October 2020.

“People might want to see that.” So we’re hard at work trying to figure out how to get the gang together and come back.’

Tim Federle was directing, while Madhuri Shekar was believed to be writing the screenplay.

In April 2022, Tim said that Whoopi was “really excited” to return to the habit as singer Deloris Van Cartier.