Who better to tell jokes about the
Pope than the
Pope himself?
John Paul II, born
Karol Joseph Wojtyla, lived through
World War II as a laborer in a
chemical factory in southern
Poland, which was
Nazi occupied territory for most of the war. He saw the savage treatment of
Jews by the
Nazis first hand while he secretly studied to become a
priest. The horrors of war and the seeming
inaction of the
Catholic Church left a
deep impact on the Pope, and he has struggled to make amends to the
Jewish people for most of his
reign.
As a gesture of
goodwill, the Pope chose
Brooklyn-born Jewish conductor
Gilbert Levine to conduct
Haydn's "
Creation" at the celebrations for his 80th birthday. Levine, understanding the
historical significance of his role in
mending fences between two major
religions, was understandably
nervous. During the final preparations for the event, the Pope took a
walk backstage and gestured
Gilbert aside.
Looking concerned and
serious, the Pope asked Levine:
Is it good? Are they (the
orchestra) ready?
Gilbert, already
high-strung and
nervous, answered quickly and profusely. He assured the Pope that everything was perfect, all the musicians were wonderful and that nothing had gone wrong during
rehearsals. Suddenly
self-conscious and worried about the Pope's hushed
questions, Gilbert asked him why he was
concerned? What had he
heard?
The Pope pulled him
close and said:
"
Thank goodness everything is ready. I hear the Pope is coming tonight!" and then
winked.
Gilbert later reported that all the
nerves he had disappeared and he gave the
performance of his
career, after
laughing backstage with the Pope.