A visibly testy Pope Francis had to yank his arm away from the clutches of an over-zealous woman in St. Peter’s Square on Tuesday, slapping at the woman’s hand twice to break free.

A video of the encounter, posted on Twitter, shows the unidentified woman making the sign of the cross as the pontiff works his way down a receiving line of pilgrims in Vatican City.

But as the pope began to walk away from the crowd, the woman grabbed his right arm and pulled him back violently.

The pope appears to grimace in pain and, in uncustomary fashion, berates the woman and twice slaps her hand to free himself.

The pope then went to examine a large Nativity scene in the square outside the cathedral.

It’s not clear what happened to the unidentified woman.

With Post wires