Pope Francis meets perhaps biggest, certainly cutest fan

A child embraces Pope Francis as he speaks at St. Peter's Square. (Reuters)

A young boy wandered onto the stage at the Vatican this past weekend, hugging Pope Francis as he tried to give a speech.

The boy, who looks about 6, was originally sitting on the steps near the pope, while Francis listened to followers address him at the Vatican's Year of Faith Celebration.

Boys will be boys, and this one wanted a closer look at the man in the robe. So he wandered up to give a personal hello.

But the boy's misadventure didn't end there. He kissed the cross around the Pope's neck.

He refused to be ushered back to his seat, and as other people came on stage to greet the pope, the boy did his best to keep them from honing in on his new buddy.

Eventually Francis convinced the child to take a seat. But he didn't go back to his spot on the steps. Instead, the rambunctious youngster sat on the pope's chair while he continued his speech, which led to this a-dor-a-ble photo that @pegobry posted on Twitter.

Love. Kid runs on stage during @Pontifex speech, hugs him, Pope sits him on his chair to continue the speech. pic.twitter.com/zxghWLpwtb

— PEG (@pegobry) October 29, 2013

The interaction goes to show a) the pope has some serious cross-generational appeal and b) you can get away with a lot when you're a kid and don't know any better. 

Pope Francis touches the head of a child as he speaks in St. Peter Square. (Reuters)

Society & CultureReligion & BeliefsPope Francis

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"I'm not Tarzan," Pope Francis tells young crowd

CAGLIARI, Sardinia (Reuters) - Pope Francis brought laughter to a crowd of young people on Sunday when he told them he was not "Tarzan" but gets his staying power during times of difficulty from his faith.

Speaking off the cuff at the end of a trip to Sardinia, he said he had recently marked the 60th anniversary of the day he first felt the vocation to be a priest.

"I have not regretted it. And it's not because I feel like Tarzan and have the (physical) strength to go ahead," he said, prompting of laughter and applause for comparing himself to the fictional character raised by apes in the jungles of Africa.

"No, I have not regretted it because always, even in the darkest moments, in the times of sin, in the times of fragility, in the times of failure, I looked to Jesus and I trusted him and he did not abandon me. He is a faithful companion," Francis said.

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

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