He got upset. On December 31, 2019, Pope Francis, after performing the last Mass of the year, had an altercation with a parishioner. This woman had pulled the Pope abruptly and desperately by the arm in St. Peter’s Square, in the Vatican, without warning. The Pope greeted the faithful in the square giving kisses on the forehead to the children and the hand to the believers.
The woman would have reacted that way because the pontiff would withdraw without passing in front of her and not being able to greet him. The lady managed to approach him so abruptly. Francisco reacted by hitting the parishioner’s hand, possibly because of pain from the sudden movement, and pulling his hand away very annoyed in the face of the situation.
The next day, the Pope offered public apologies to the woman after the abrupt reaction of the Pope by sending an open message to the media. The high pontiff expressed himself prior to performing the Angelus of 2020, a prayer that is done in a traditional way at the beginning of each year. «I apologize for the bad example given yesterday,» he said. Francisco said that everyone can lose patience from time to time and that he also loses it.
During the Mass in the liturgy of the word, there was talk of the eradication of evil from the root, “This blessing of God for every man and woman” is not “magical, but requires patience, the patience of love” – mentioned Francisco, which makes a reference to its small inconvenience committed the previous day.
Likewise, it should be noted that apart from Francisco there have been other popes who have also reacted or had bad behaviors with their believers over time such as Sergio III, John XII, Bonifacio VIII, Bonifacio VIII, etc.