Pope Francis saw a parrot that struck him as “a beautiful gift from God” on Wednesday while he was in St. Peter’s Square — so he blessed it.

It turns out that the bird, named Amore, belonged to a former male stripper turned adult film actor.

“It was fun. … A sort of mixing of the holy and the profane,” Francesco Lombardi told the ANSA news agency.

According to Mr. Lombardi, the parrot called the pope “Papa,” which the crowd chanted as the leader of the Catholic Church passed by.

The adult film actor was in town with his wife and two daughters when the blessing occurred.

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