Pope Francis has blessed the eyes of five-year-old Lizzy Myers, who is gradually losing her eyesight from a rare genetic disease.

Lizzy and her family had travelled from America to Rome for Pope Francis' Wednesday general audience as part of a "visual bucket list". Her parents have created the list so that Lizzy might see some of the wonders of the world before she loses her sight.

They had been hoping to glimpse a sight of the Pope, or even meet him. "We are hoping for a little special prayer or something for Lizzy and maybe a miracle will happen that way as well", her father previously told Associated Press.

The Pope exceeded expectations when he kissed Lizzy on the forehead and blessed her eyes.

Lizzy is unaware that she sufferes from Usher's Syndrome, which will worsen her hearing and slowly make her blind.

When her parents received the diagnosis, they "realised that we have to do as much as we can to let her see as many wonderful things as possible".

They first went to the Warrent Rupp observatory near their home so Lizzy could see the moon and stars through a telescope. A journalist picked up on the story, and Lizzy's bucket list went viral.

The general manager of Turkish Airlines heard about her story and offered the family round-trip tickets to anywhere in the world. They chose Rome.

Before meeting the Pope, the family had already seen the statue of Julius Caesar, the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.