The pontiff greeted a TON of famous jokesters Friday along with more than 100 other comics and entertainers at the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church in Rome. The purpose of the powwow was to "establish a link" between humor and Catholicism.

Right from the get-go, the jokes started to fly as Francis cracked a one liner when everyone arrived, asking them, “Is this some kind of joke?” Of course, all the guests started to laugh.

In addition to the 3 aforementioned celebs, other A-list comedians in attendance included Stephen Colbert, Conan O'Brien, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus ... just to name a few. Of course, there was a lot of handshaking -- with just about every comic getting in line to say hey to PF ... and, of course, a lot of chuckling too.

Reports say Francis praised the comedians for their ability to make the world laugh during such dark times -- with him saying, "You manage to make people smile even while dealing with problems and events, large and small. You denounce abuses of power; you give voice to forgotten situations; you highlight abuses; you point out inappropriate behavior."

It's certainly a good change of pace for Pope Francis ... who's been in a little hot water of late. As you know, he's been accused of dropping homophobic rhetoric behind closed doors -- and while he's apologized for it once already, he seems to keep doing it.