Pope Francis has addressed the confusion surrounding a viral video of him batting away mass goers who tried to kiss his ring earlier this week.
The hilarious clip has since been viewed millions of times, with many people pointing out that it looked like a scene from Father Ted.
The pope went to extreme lengths in order to avoid letting anyone get near the Papal ring during a visit to the Italian town of Loreto, where he was seen pulling his hand away repeatedly.
Take a look for yourself here:
https://twitter.com/CatholicSat/status/1110216790985113600
A Vatican spokesperson has now revealed the real reason for his bizarre reaction.
Alessandro Gisotti
explained, "The Holy Father told me that the motivation was very simple: hygiene.
"He wants to avoid the risk of contagion for the people, not for him."
He added, "You all know that he has a great joy in meeting and embracing people, and being embraced by them."
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