Pope Francis Invites Boy With Down Syndrome For Ride In ‘Popemobile’ [VIDEO]

Pope Francis made headlines after an unusual event happened at the end of his general audience in Boiano, near Naples.

He saw a boy with a football jersey with the name "Messi," pointing at the "popemobile," and he approached him and invited him up. It was a very fortunate circumstance for Alberto di Tullio, 17, who hopped onto the pope's open-top Mercedes as tens of thousands of people looked on.

Di Tulio, who has down syndrome, was given the blue-and-white-striped Argentine national soccer jersey that might have caught the pope's eyes (since he's from Argentina) by his parish priest before he and his dad set out to the audience.

The boy's father, Celestino di Tullio, told reporters how he choked up when Francis approached his son. "The pope saw him, embraced him. Then Alberto pointed to the car, and so he brought him up!"

Footage shows the Pope and Alberto chatting on the open-deck of the "Popemobile" before the teenager had a go in the pope's white swivel chair.