Human Interest
Pope leaves Vatican to visit an optician─── 08:54 Fri, 04 Sep 2015
Rome - Pope Francis drew crowds for an unusual reason yesterday - after slipping out of the Vatican to visit an optician.
While the optician normally delivers new glasses to the Vatican, Pope Francis insisted on travelling to the shop in central Rome this time.
Large crowds gathered outside the shop as he spent an hour inside, at the end of which he insisted on paying. Pope Francis has reportedly expressed regret at not being able to walk freely on Rome's streets.
The Pope was accompanied by an assistant, a bodyguard and several police officers on his visit. While archbishop of Buenos Aires, he was often seen travelling on public transport or walking through the city.
BBC