Pope Francis this morning decided to give two young children a treat by telling them to hop on board his popemobile as he was driven around St. Peter's square.

The boy and the girl sat attentively as the pope greeted crowds and kissed a baby ahead of his weekly general audience at the Vatican.

The pope, smiling, spoke to them briefly as they were driven along.

As the popemobile pulled to a stop near the altar the pontiff kissed both the smiling children before they departed.

It was not immediately clear whose children they were and how they had been lucky enough to have been offered such an exclusive circuit with the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics