'A waterfall of mercy'

Oscar-winning actor and director Roberto Benigni gave Pope Francis two thumbs up Tuesday, delivering one of his rapid-fire monologues and praising the pope as a fountain of mercy who is "dragging the whole church toward Christianity."

At perhaps the most unusual Vatican book launch ever, Benigni was joined by the Vatican secretary of state, the Vatican spokesman and the Vatican publisher, as well as a Chinese prison inmate, to premier "The Name of God is Mercy." Francis' book-length conversation with Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli is being released in 86 countries as part of the pope's Holy Year of Mercy.

Benigni, whose 1999 "Life is Beautiful" won three Oscars, joked that he wanted to be a priest as a child but realized he had to become a comic instead after friends laughed when he said he wanted to be pope.

Gesturing wildly, Benigni praised Francis for living the message of mercy, going to visit the "least of the least" in Lampedusa, ground zero in Europe's migration crisis, and launching his jubilee year of mercy with the "poorest of the poorest of the poor" in Central African Republic.

"He's a fountain, a waterfall of mercy," Benigni said.