The pontiff told the artistes he knew they sometimes suffered criticism because of how they treated animals.
But he added, speaking off the cuff: "You know how to make a child smile, illuminate the face of a lonely person, bring people closer to one another, and you can also scare a pope by getting him to stroke an animal, you're powerful, aren't you." He said that, like in Fellini's Oscar-winning 'La Strada', with Anthony Quinn and Giulietta Masina, circus troupes "do good without knowing it".
The world of the Circus spreads "a culture of encounter" and those working in such travelling shows have a unique opportunity "to be Christ's witnesses" to "even the most distant" of people, Francis said.
In a festive audience in the Vatican, Pope Francis greeted representatives of circus associations, employees of amusement parks and fairs, street performers, artists, designers and puppeteers, musicians and folk groups celebrating their Jubilee.
The pope told them their festiveness and joy "are distinctive signs of your identity, your profession and your life" and that this appointment "could not be overlooked" in the Jubilee of Mercy.
The 15-16 June Jubilee was sponsored and organized by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People in collaboration with the "Migrantes" Foundation of the Italian Episcopal Conference and the Migrantes Office of the Diocese of Rome.
"You are 'artisans' of festivities, of wonder, of beauty," the pope said, and "with these qualities, you enrich all world society, even with the aim of nurturing sentiments of hope and confidence. You do it through performances that have the ability to elevate the soul, to show the boldness of particularly challenging exercises, to fascinate with the wonder of beauty and to offer opportunities for healthy entertainment." Francis thanked them for having, in this year of Mercy, "opened your shows to the most needy, the poor and the homeless, prisoners, and disadvantaged kids. This too is mercy: to sow beauty and joy in a world sometimes gloomy and sad."
-Source ANSA