Pope Francis Has a Ball at the Vatican

The pontiff was thrown the ball by a fan today at St. Peter's Square.

The 77-year-old pontiff urged an onlooking fan at St. Peter's Square to throw him a baseball, despite his nervous-looking security detail.

The fan was behind a barrier that was just yards away from the leader of the Catholic Church, but that didn't stop the pontiff from encouraging the fan to throw him the ball.

The ball bounced in the pope's right hand, before falling to the floor.

The encounter took place at the end of his weekly audience at St. Peter's Square.

When he dropped the ball, a bevy of the security guards dived to retrieve it for him. The pope, a known soccer fan of the Argentine club San Lorenzo, then signed the ball and returned it.