Pope Francis got stuck in an elevator for 25 minutes on Sunday on his way to address the crowd at St.Peter's Square, Vatican City. He was later rescued by firefighters. He apologised to the crowd for being late."Dear brothers and sisters, good morning. First of all, I have to apologize for being late but I had an unexpected event, I have been stuck in an elevator for 25 minutes.” he said.

Pope Francis rescued, thanks Firemen

The Pope thanked the firemen and said that a drop in the tension caused the lift to get stuck.“Thank goodness, the firemen arrived, and I thank them so much, and after 25 minutes of work they managed to get it started again,” he said. Later, he asked the crowd to applaud for the firemen. The Vatican didn’t say if the Pope was alone in the elevator or accompanied by any of his aids.

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Pope Francis on pollution and climate change 

Francis also issued an appeal in his message on Sunday: the start of several weeks of prayer by Christians to raise political awareness about pollution and exploitation of natural resources. He asked people to reflect on 'thoughtful and harmful' decisions daily and 'self-centered' attitude towards the creation. He had also said at the U.N Climate Action Summit that “governments will have the responsibility of showing the political will to take drastic measures” to achieve as quickly as possible zero net greenhouse gas emissions and to limit average the average increase in global temperature in line with the Paris climate accords.

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Pope Francis names 13 new cardinals

Pope Francis also gave the Catholic Church 13 new cardinals on Sunday, including two who helped migrants. Francis made the surprise announcement from his studio window overlooking St. Peter’s Square. “Their provenance expresses the missionary vocation of the Church to continue to announce the merciful love of God to all men on Earth,” he said before reading aloud a list of their names. One of them is Bologna Archbishop Matteo Zuppi, who has guided the Roman basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere and whose doors have been open for the homeless on cold winter nights. Another cardinal is, Rev. Michael Czerny who is an official who was named in 2016 by Francis to help lead a Vatican office concerned with refugees and migrants.

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(With inputs from AP)