Whoopi Goldberg Offered Pope Francis a Role in Sister Act 3: ‘He Said He’d See What His Time Is Like’

The EGOT-winner traveled to the Vatican to meet with the pope back in October 2023, revealing in an interview that the church leader was ‘a bit of a fan’ of ‘Sister Act’

From Left: Whoopi Goldberg; and Pope Francis. Photo:

Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images; Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Whoopi Goldberg is in the process of working on Sister Act 3 — and she has high hopes that a special guest star will make an appearance in the movie.

During an appearance on the Tonight Show on May 8, the Oscar-winning actress, 68, opened up about the moment she met Pope Francis at the Vatican and shared that she even offered him a role in the film.

“You got to meet the pope,” host Jimmy Fallon said to Goldberg during her Wednesday night appearance, holding up a photo of her speaking with the pope. “Whoopi Goldberg and the pope. This is a party I want to go to.”

“I wanted to thank him,” Goldberg said of their visit, recalling how she had tried multiple times over 10 years to meet him. “But every time I’d say, ‘Okay, we’ll do it,’ then it was like I’d step in something and then I couldn’t do it.”

The View moderator met Pope Francis in October 2023 to have a brief chat and bring him some Sister Act memorabilia. She later joked with her View co-hosts that she felt like she was “going to walk into this building and I’m going to burst into flames.”

“I really like this man, because, you know, when people talk about, you know, who you want, this is supposed to be the guy that you talk to,” she added, noting that she approves of Pope Francis’ stance on issues like divorce and LGBT+ acceptance in the Catholic Church.

“He’s annoyed a lot of people because he said some things people don’t think are correct, but I do. Because, you know, you’re the pope,” she continued. “You say, ‘Listen, we welcome everybody. We want everybody at our party. We want everybody. We don’t — you know, we’re not going to judge you. Only God judges you.'”

Goldberg also said that the pope “seems to be a bit of a fan” of 1992’s Sister Act , prompting Fallon to jokingly ask the actress: “Did he ask for, like, a cameo in Sister Act 3?”

“No, but I offered one,” the EGOT winner said, to laughs from the crowd. “He said he’d see what his time was like.”

“Do you feel different after you meet the pope?” Fallon asked Goldberg, to which she responded, “You know what? I did, because I felt like, ‘Alright, he does get it.’ ”

“It’s a tough gig, you know, it’s like being the — you’re the top guy, right? And everybody’s saying, ‘That’s not what this says,’ ” she continued. “Worldwide, you’re the top guy. And when you say something like, ‘Listen, we want everybody,’ people go, ‘No, we don’t.’ ”

“Yeah, we do,” Goldberg finished. “And that’s what’s brilliant about the pope, because he actually remembers what JC said, you know?”

Pope Francis isn’t the only potential cast member Goldberg has asked to appear in the upcoming sequel, which has been in the works for years. Back in February, she asked Abbott Elementary’s Sheryl Lee Ralph — who had a role in 1993’s Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit — to potentially star in the third sequel and to join a her in a Sister Act cast reunion.

In March, Goldberg also spoke with PEOPLE about developing the third installment of the franchise, saying that “it’s still on the way! It’s percolating.”

“They have not said, ‘We’re over you and this movie,’ ” she quipped, referring to studio executives.  “We’re still in the process of writing the script.”