Pope Francis invited a group of refugees onto the podium for his weekly address at the Vatican on Wednesday.

The Pontiff has been a champion of persuading Europe to accept more refugees and migrants fleeing from the Middle East and north Africa. As he descended from his Popemobile after arriving in St Peter's Square, he greeted a group of African men who held a sign that read: "Refugees for a future together".

The Argentine Pope then invited the men onto his podium overlooking the thousands gathered to hear his weekly general audience. They sat alongside Francis as he delivered a message that compared refugees to modern day lepers.

"How many times we meet a poor person who comes to us!" Francis said in his address. "We can even be generous and compassionate, but usually we do not touch them. We offer money, we drop it there, but we avoid touching their hand. And we forget that this is the body of Christ!"

"Jesus teaches us to not be afraid to touch the poor and the marginalised, because He is in them," he continued. "Touching the poor person can purify us from hypocrisy and make us more concerned for his situation."

The men were guests of the Catholic charity Caritas in Florence and Francis went on to say the refugees had suffered in their own country.

"Please they are our brothers. A Christian excludes no one. I ask all of you: Let everyone come," he told the crowds below.

The gesture comes after the Pope brought 12 refugees back to the Vatican when he visited the Greek island of Lesbos in April.

You can watch a video of Pope Francis' weekly address below.