Papal Wordplay

Pope Francis (Francisco in Portuguese) has gone viral on Twitter with a variation on a common joke about the country. According to Jovem Pan: “Pope Francis made a joke with a group of Brazilians this past Wednesday, the 26th.

You [Brazilians] have no salvation. There’s a lot of cachaça and not much prayer.

the pontiff said to a group that approached him after the end of his general audience at the Vatican asking that Francis say a prayer for their compatriots. … The request was made by father João Paulo Souto Victor, from Campina Grande, Paraíba. A video made by the Brazilians was shared and went viral on Twitter, rising to the most commented items on the platform.” (There’s a link to the tweet at the link above.)

It’s worth noting that “salvation” (“salvação”) and “prayer” (“oração”) rhyme in Portuguese. (Although not in Italian, which appears to be the language the pope was speaking.)