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Pope Francis had an extra special visitor at his weekly general audience meetings at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican on Wednesday afternoon (June 23).

The religious figure got to meet Spider-Man, aka Mattia Villardita, during the event, which is held each week as The Pope gives visitors a chance to see and interact with the Pope as he delivers small teachings, readings and prayers.

Mattia actually performs in hospitals for sick children, and sat next to another priest as he listened to the Pope’s service, according to a report from Reuters.

During his meeting with the Pope, Mattia even passed along a spare Spider-Man mask.

Mattia was invited to the audience as a VIP guest for his work of dressing up as Spider-Man and visiting sick children in the hospital.

Later that day, he was set to visit the Vatican’s pediatric hospital to bring smiles to the children’s faces.

He shared with Reuters that he gifted the mask “as a sign, to tell him that through these eyes, I daily see pain from sick children in hospitals. It was very exciting because Pope Francis immediately understood my mission.”

Speaking of Spider-Man, here’s what we know about the upcoming live action movie so far.

Stars are speaking out after hearing about The Vatican‘s response about same sex marriages.

“Does the Church have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons of the same sex?” was the question and they responded with negative, according to Reuters.

“It is not licit to impart a blessing on relationships, or partnerships, even stable, that involve sexual activity outside of marriage (i.e., outside the indissoluble union of a man and a woman open in itself to the transmission of life), as is the case of the unions between persons of the same sex[6],” they wrote in their response. “The presence in such relationships of positive elements, which are in themselves to be valued and appreciated, cannot justify these relationships and render them legitimate objects of an ecclesial blessing, since the positive elements exist within the context of a union not ordered to the Creator’s plan.”

“Furthermore, since blessings on persons are in relationship with the sacraments, the blessing of homosexual unions cannot be considered licit,” the Vatican’s explanation continued. “This is because they would constitute a certain imitation or analogue of the nuptial blessing[7] invoked on the man and woman united in the sacrament of Matrimony, while in fact ‘there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family’[8].”

After hearing of the news, many stars including Billy Eichner, Lauren Jauregui, Sunny Hostin, and even Elton John, slammed the church and the statement.

“But it’s cool for them to molest children….bet,” Lauren wrote in the first of a pair of tweets. “Also let’s not forget how most Catholics that exist today got here..look up ‘The Inquisition’ and ‘The Crusades’ I promise you that marrying a couple that loves each other is the least of the Church’s worries as far as disobeying God goes.”

Pope Francis has been known for his support for the right of gay couples to have civil legal protections but has always opposed gay marriage.

Click inside to see more celeb reactions to The Vatican’s response…More Here! »

• The Vatican made a decree about gay marriage and it’s infuriating many – TMZ
• Find out who is slamming the church – Just Jared Jr
• Hilaria Baldwin probably does not want to talk about this… – DListed
• Fans think Maren Morris looked exactly like this celeb on the red carpet last night – TooFab
• Kylie Jenner is issuing an important reminder – Egotastic
• Ashley Benson is revealing what is most stressful for her – Just Jared Jr

The Vatican is not taking any chances.

Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, issued a decree on Thursday (February 18) that employees who refuse the coronavirus vaccine “without proven health reasons” face penalties that can include “the interruption of the work relationship,” CBS reported.

Vatican City is the world’s smallest independent state, located in the heart of Rome, Italy.

Those who live inside the Vatican “tend to be elderly, such as retired Pope Benedict XVI, 93, and Pope Francis, 84. The pontiff was vaccinated for COVID-19 last month and has been a big supporter of inoculation in the global fight against the coronavirus,” the outlet reported.

“It is an ethical choice because you are gambling with your health, with your life, but you are also gambling with the lives of others,” the Pope said to an Italian TV station in January.

Last month, the Vatican started vaccinating homeless people cared for in the territory’s food and health facilities.

Some celebrities made headlines for refusing to get the vaccine.

Pope Francis has been given the Coronavirus vaccine, the Vatican revealed.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement that he was “able to confirm that within the vaccine program of the Vatican City State, to this date the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine has been administered to Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus,” CNN reports.

Former Pope Benedict has also been vaccinated against COVID-19 as well.

The statement did not reveal when the pair were vaccinated.

“I believe that ethically everyone should take the vaccine. It is not an option, it is an ethical choice because you are gambling with your health, with your life, but you are also gambling with the lives of others,” the pontiff previously said in an interview.

Find out which other celebrities and public figures were given the vaccine.

• Pope Francis made a very controversial comparison involving abortion – TMZ
• Sad news for fans of the original Gossip Girl series – Just Jared Jr
• 19-year-old Amelia Hamlin is thankful for who?! – DListed
• Kristin Cavallari plays F, Marry, Kill with co-stars! – TooFab
• Trump just fired off at a reporter – Towleroad
• These titles are coming to Netflix in December – Just Jared Jr

Pope Francis has officially endorsed same sex civil unions. This stance is an official departure from previous viewpoints of the Vatican.

“Homosexuals have a right to be part of the family,” the Pope said in “Francesco,” a documentary about his life, according to the Catholic News Agency. “They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it.”

“What we have to create is a civil union law,” he continued in the documentary. “That way, they are legally covered. I stood up for that.” Right now, the documentary is set to debut on October 25 at the Savannah Film Festival.

Find out which celeb couple got to meet Pope Francis just a few years ago!

The Pope had to apologize a few months back for what he did to a woman.