Watch: Pope Francis Apologizes For Slapping Woman Who Grabbed His Hand

Pope Francis acknowledged that he made a mistake earlier when he lost his temper several hours earlier. Through his speech for the New Year, the pope mentioned the incident and he was apologetic.

According to The Daily Mail, the Pope apologized for the episode where he slapped the hand of a female devotee on New Year’s Eve. The head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State admitted that he lost patience when the woman grabbed his hand as he was greeting the crowd while making his way to the Nativity scene in Vatican City on the evening of Dec. 31.

“We lose patience many times,” Pope Francis said during the mass celebration on New Year’s Day. “It happens to me too and I apologize for the bad example given yesterday.”

After expressing regret over his action, the 83-year-old supreme pontiff went on to denounce violence against women. He called the women as “sources of life” and told the churchgoers that any type of violence done on them is a sin against the Heavenly Father.

“Women are sources of life yet they are continually insulted, beaten, raped, forced to prostitute themselves and to suppress the life they bear in the womb," CNN News quoted the Pope as saying during the mass at the St. Peter's Basilica on Wednesday. "Every form of violence inflicted upon a woman is a blasphemy against God, who was born of a woman."

He added that gender quality is also important, saying that women have the right to be treated as equals of men. The Pontiff stated that as an example, women should be fully included in any decision-making process. "Every step forward for women is a step forward for humanity as a whole," he explained.

In any case, Pope Francis’ apology stemmed from the New Year's Eve incident when one woman grabbed his robe as he was moving away. Visibly surprised and irritated with the action, he attempted to free himself by pulling his arm away but the woman did not let go so the Pope slapped her hand until he broke free from her grip.

The video of the angry Pontiff went viral as this is the first time that he was seen like this. Finally, many people defended Pope Francis’ action by saying that anyone would be upset with what the woman did because she pulled hard and it almost made him lose his balance. They said that the Pope is old and he could have fallen at that time.