Pope Francis has appeared to send a message of support to Cardinal George Pell in the hours after he was acquitted of sexual abuse.

The Pope offered his Tuesday morning mass from the Vatican for those who suffer from unjust sentences.

It comes after Cardinal Pell yesterday walked free from Barwon Prison after the High Court quashed his child sexual abuse convictions.

A child's tricycle was left tied to the gate of the residence Cardinal George Pell spent the night at. A day earler the High Court overturned all convictions againbst Pell. (Nine)

9News captured Pell arriving at the Kew Carmelite Monastery in Melbourne's inner-east after leaving the prison near Geelong about 12.30pm.

This morning, a child's tricycle was tied to the gates, a clear illustration of a community divided.

Melbourne's iconic St Patrick's Cathedral was also vandalised overnight, with the words "the law protects the powerful" sprayed on the forecourt.

Pell was earlier seen leaving the prison alongside his legal advisors in a black Volkswagen.

He has spent more than 400 days behind bars.

9News believes Pell would like to return to the Vatican in Rome at some point, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is likely he will reside in Melbourne for the time being.

In an official statement, the Vatican said it "has always expressed confidence in the Australian judicial authority" and welcomed the court's ruling.

"Entrusting his case to the court's justice, Cardinal Pell has always maintained his innocence, and has waited for the truth to be ascertained," the Vatican said.

"At the same time, the Holy See reaffirms its commitment to preventing and pursuing all cases of abuse against minors."

George Pell left the prison in a black Volkswagen. (Nine)

Each morning at the mass in his residence, Pope Francis chooses an intention for the service, such as remembering the poor, the homeless or the sick.

On Tuesday morning he dedicated the service to those who suffer unjust sentences.

"I would like to pray today for all those people who suffer unjust sentences resulting from intransigence (against them)," the Pope said on Tuesday, speaking before the start of the mass.

He did not mention Cardinal Pell by name.

In recent weeks, the Pope's intentions for nearly all of his daily masses have been related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Pope Francis compared the suffering of those inflicted with unjust sentences today to the way Jewish community elders persecuted Jesus with "obstinacy and rage even though he was innocent".

Cardinal George Pell seen inside the vehicle. (AAP Image/James Ross)

George Pell has won his appeal bid and is freed from prison. (AAP Image/James Ross)

High Court's unanimous decision

The court earlier unanimously found Cardinal Pell's conviction for child sex abuse should be overturned and he should immediately be released from prison.

In a statement, Cardinal Pell said a serious injustice had been remedied by the High Court but that he had "no ill will towards his accuser".

"I do not want my acquittal to add to the hurt and bitterness so many feel; there is certainly hurt and bitterness enough," he said.

IN FULL: You can read the High Court summary here

"The High Court found that the jury, acting rationally on the whole of the evidence, ought to have entertained a doubt as to the applicant's guilt with respect to each of the offences for which he was convicted, and ordered that the convictions be quashed and the verdicts of acquittal be entered in their places," a summary of their decision, handed down today, said.

A jury found Pell guilty of five charges in December 2018, accepting evidence of one complainant that the Cardinal had sexually abused him and another 13-year-old choirboy at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne in 1996.

Cardinal George Pell has been freed from prison after his conviction was overturned by the High Court. (Getty)

An appeal to Victoria's Court of Appeal last year was unsuccessful.

But the full bench of seven judges found in a unanimous judgment that the jury should have had reasonable doubt as to Pell's guilt.

Pell has always maintained his innocence.

Charges quashed

The High Court found the Victorian Court of Appeal majority had failed to engage with the idea that against a body of evidence, the complainant's account was not correct.

"There is a significant possibility in relation to charges one to four, that an innocent person has been convicted," they said.

A fifth conviction relating to a second alleged incident, in which the surviving choirboy claimed he was molested by Cardinal Pell in a corridor, was also quashed.

"The assumption that a group of choristers, including adults, might have been so preoccupied with making their way to the robing room as to fail to notice the extraordinary sight of the Archbishop of Melbourne dressed 'in his full regalia' advancing through the procession and pinning a 13-year-old boy to the wall, is a large one," they said.

George Pell's statement in full

I have consistently maintained my innocence while suffering from a serious injustice.

This has been remedied today with the High Court's unanimous decision.

I look forward to reading the judgment and reasons for the decision in detail.

I hold no ill will toward my accuser, I do not want my acquittal to add to the hurt and bitterness so many feel; there is certainly hurt and bitterness enough.

However my trial was not a referendum on the Catholic Church; nor a referendum on how Church authorities in Australia dealt with the crime of paedophilia in the Church.

The point was whether I had committed these awful crimes, and I did not.

The only basis for long term healing is truth and the only basis for justice is truth, because justice means truth for all.

Cardinal George Pell pictures with Pope Benedict XVI. (AAP)

A special thanks for all the prayers and thousands of letters of support.

I want to thank in particular my family for their love and support and what they had to go through; my small team of advisors; those who spoke up for me and suffered as a result; and all my friends and supporters here and overseas.

Also my deepest thanks and gratitude to my entire legal team for their unwavering resolve to see justice prevail, to throw light on manufactured obscurity and to reveal the truth.

Finally, I am aware of the current health crisis. I am praying for all those affected and our medical frontline personnel.

Father of dead choirboy and advocates slam ruling

The father of one of George Pell's alleged victims is "disgusted" at the High Court's decision to overturn the cardinal's child sexual abuse convictions.

Lisa Flynn, National Practice Leader at Shine Lawyers, represents the father in a separate civil lawsuit against the Catholic Church and in a powerful statement expressed the man's devastation over the outcome.

But Ms Flynn revealed the firm would continue to pursue a civil claim on behalf of their client despite the High Court's ruling.