But this proved hard to swallow for po-faced Vatican minders who ensured that the pontiff's remark did not make the final cut of a documentary.
The pontiff is well known for having a lively sense of humour but when Pope Francis quipped that a bottle of whisky was “the real holy water”, his Vatican didn't think it was remotely amusing, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The quip was made by Pope Francis during the filming of a documentary about the Scots College, where young Scottish Catholics have trained for the priesthood since 1616. The documentary was made by director Tony Kearney and follows the Scottish trainee priests over a 18 months.
Apparently, when the trainee priests gave the pontiff a bottle of malt on their visit to the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican, he announced: “Questa e la vera acqua santa”.
“He was really down to earth with them all and when they handed him the bottle, instead of just handing it to his assistant as he normally would with a gift, he held it up and said ‘Questa e la vera acqua santa’, which means ‘This is the real holy water.’ He guffawed with laughter and it was a real ice-breaker with the students and put everyone at ease,” Tony Kearney told the Daily Record.
However, Vatican officials had the final say over the contents of the documentary and ordered that the 'joke' be cut out.
Probably a good idea!