Pope Francis trips and falls over as he arrives for Mass at the Jasna Gora shrine in Poland

Poland: POPE Francis missed a step and fell over to the ground as he arrived to an open-air altar to celebrate Mass at Poland’s holiest shrine at Jasna Gora on Thursday as millions of people watch around the world.

The 79-year-old Pontiff who arrived in Poland on Wednesday and will be visiting several religious and cultural sites was walking towards the alter to celebrate a mass at the southern black Madonna shrine of Czestochowa to mark the 1,150th anniversary of the Baptism of Poland in his long alb and did not notice a step-down when he fell to the ground. He was quickly helped by other Priests around him.

The Mass went ahead as planned and the Pontiff delivered a long sermon before tens of thousands of faithful gathered at Jasna Gora monastery.

Pope Francis is suffering from sciatica, a medical condition in which pain sometimes shoots down from the lower back to the leg.