When the comedian Stephen Colbert took to the dais on Thursday for his keynote speech at the Al Smith white-tie charity dinner, the annual gathering of New York’s Roman Catholic elite, he immediately flashed a sly glance at Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, sitting a few seats away.

“I have great respect for Cardinal Dolan, though I do have to say, sir, it is not easy when you are wearing that outfit,” Mr. Colbert said, as the portly cardinal, in his traditional vestments, gave a broad grin.

“In that cape and red sash, you look like a matador who’s really let himself go.”

“Did you not see the invite?” Mr. Colbert added, as laughter echoed around the Art Deco ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. “It said white-tie, not ‘Flamboyant Zorro.’ ”

It was just one more sign that the two men might be having the most prominent friendship in Catholicism today.