Pope Francis apologises for losing patience with woman who grabbed him

Pope Francis has apologised for losing his patience with a woman who grabbed his arm in St Peter’s Square on New Year’s Eve.

“Many times we lose our patience; me too. I apologise for yesterday's bad example,” Pope Francis in a departure from his prepared remarks for the Angelus prayer on January  1.

While greeting the crowd in front of the Vatican nativity scene on December 31, a woman yanked the pope’s arm. Visibly upset, Pope Francis slapped her hand and walked away frustrated.

After his impromptu apology, the pope said that contemplating the nativity scene helps one to see with the eyes of faith a vision of “the renewed world, freed from the dominion of evil and placed under the royal lordship of Christ, the Child who lies in the manger.”