Whoopi Goldberg misses “The View” to meet Pope Francis, teases “Sister Act 3” in Vatican City

Whoopi Goldberg had nothing short of a religious experience during her multiday absence from The View, as the Oscar winner revealed the godly good reason why she wasn't on the show for two days straight.

The 67-year-old actress shared several dispatches from Vatican City on Thursday, hours after The View aired without her in the moderator seat, with Joy Behar informing audiences that Goldberg wasn't present so she could work on a special mystery project to be revealed on the show's Monday, Oct. 16, episode.

Goldberg's series of Instagram Stories began with her checking out of a hotel in Rome before making her way to Vatican City.

"This is very exciting. I'm not really saying what we're doing yet because I want to savor this experience," she said. She later elaborated, explaining that she had "the most exquisite experience" in the region before a subsequent post revealed that she was in a car just outside St. Peter's Basilica.

Shortly after, Goldberg unveiled another clip of herself standing in St. Peter's Square and hinted that it might be a potential location for her long-gestating Sister Act 3.

"Maybe, since you're seeing everything, you're figuring out what I'm doing here, but picture Sister Act and all the nuns standing here, waiting for the Pope to come out," she teased. "Maybe that's going to happen in the new movie. You don't know. You never know, but we are in Rome, and I am in Vatican City. What could I be doing? Why could I be here? We'll find out."

Finally, Goldberg made the big reveal: "So, yeah, remember I said I was here and we're looking at all these different things? I think I forgot to mention, I met the Pope today. It was pretty remarkable."

Whoopi Goldberg/Instagram; James Devaney/GC Images Whoopi Goldberg; Pope Francis

Goldberg has long voiced her plans for Sister Act 3, after the sequel spent years in development. The Disney+ project got a significant update when producer Tyler Perry appeared on The View in September 2022 saying he had a "good script" in place for the film.

"I loved the idea of us making this happen, but the Hollywood system moves a little slower than I'd like to," Perry said at the table. "We've got a good script. We're off to a great start. We're just trying to get everybody moving in the right direction to get it going."

Goldberg added, "They were sort of lukewarm for the longest time. They said nobody wanted to see it. And then Tyler went in and said, 'I want to see it.' The next thing I knew, we were on! That's the power of TV."

EW has reached out to representatives for The View and Goldberg for more information.

The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET.

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