Pope Francis greeting children at St. Peter’s square on New Years Eve when a woman grabs his hand and pulls him towards her

A visibly angry Pope Francis had to pull himself away from a woman in a crowd in St Peter’s Square on Tuesday after she grabbed his hand and yanked him toward her.

Pope Francis was walking through the square in Vatican City and greeting pilgrims on his way to see the large Nativity scene set up in the huge, cobbled esplanade.

The woman in the crowd drags Pope Francis towards her

The woman pulls Pope Francis closer

Pope Francis tries to extricate himself from the woman

After reaching out to touch a child, the pope turned away from the crowd only for a nearby woman to seize his hand and pull her toward him. The abrupt gesture appeared to cause him pain and Francis swiftly wrenched his hand free.

The woman had made the sign of the cross as the pope had approached. It was not clear what she was saying as she subsequently tugged him toward her.