Eight migrant children hitched a ride around St Peter's Square on Wednesday, joining Pope Francis in his popemobile.
The pontiff treated the children who arrived in Italy via a boat from Libya shortly before his weekly general audience.
The children arrived on April 29 and come from different nations including Syria, Nigeria and Congo.
The Pope has often spoken in defence of migrants' rights. In a recent trip to Bulgaria and North Macedonia the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics addressed refugees and migrants and told the world was a difficult place for them but they should not give up hope.
_____________
In pictures: How the Popemobile has evolved
