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Thousands of people gathered in St Peter's Square, Rome, to celebrate the creation of six new saints.

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Lebanese Christians came to see the canonisation of their countryman, 19th-Century priest Nimatullah al-Hardini.

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Portraits of the saints-to-be were hung over the square.

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One of them, Gianna Beretta Molla, who died after refusing an operation that would have killed her unborn child, has become a symbol of the pro-life movement.

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Molla's is one of the more controversial of almost 500 canonisations by this pope.

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Nuns gathered after the ceremony to receive the pontiff's blessing.

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The pope appeared well and rested after numerous health scares earlier in the year.

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He was greeted by prelates as he left on his popemobile.