Pope Francis kissed the tattoo of an Auschwitz survivor â the number inked onto her forearm when she arrived at the concentration camp as a young girl â as he met the 81-year-old in an emotional meeting Wednesday at the Vatican.
Lidia Maksymowicz, who was deported to the camp when she was not yet three years old, rolled up her sleeve as she met the pope following his open-air audience inside the Apostolic Palace.
Francis bent down to kiss the number that was inked onto her forearm when she arrived at the camp in 1943 â earning him a spontaneous hug from Maksymowicz.
The pope placed his hand on her head, and spent a few minutes speaking with her as he was leaving the palace courtyard.