Two art restorers were putting the final touches on a months-long restoration of the tomb of Pope Urban VIII, who in 1626 consecrated St Peter's Basilica, when the convalescing Pope Francis appeared, unannounced, in a wheelchair ' his third such surprise appearance in less than a week. Francis thrilled the crowd at St Peter's during a Jubilee Mass for the ill on Sunday, met privately with King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Wednesday, before the impromptu turn through St Peter's Basilica on Thursday.

"We didn't know if we could approach him. We greeted him from afar," Lorena Araujo Pinheiro said on Friday as officials unveiled the last of three restoration projects in the basilica for the Jubilee Holy Year, an ancient church tradition encouraging the faithful to make pilgrimages to Rome. Then the pope and three people accompanying him motioned for the two restorers to come closer. 'He thanked us many times for the work," said Michela Malfatti. "Then he asked me if he could take my hand because his were cold. He was very sweet with us."