Pope Francis yesterday paid a surprise visit to Amatrice, the Italian town levelled by an earthquake at the end of August, and the other nearby devastated towns.

He visited a newly-built Capranica school, where he met children who showed him some of their drawings and other recent work. 

He also witnessed and prayed over the ruined Catholic churches, and talked to relatives and neighbours of the 297 dead as well as others survivors.

He hugged them individually as he walked and prayed through the ruins left by the 6.2 magnitude quake.

The Pope had wanted to go earlier to the devastated town, in central Italy, where nearly 4,000 people are still living in a tented encampment next to the town, but he had to wait until his advisers deemed it safe. 

The visit was deliberately kept private so Pope Francis could be free to be a "priest" to the people.

Besides Amatrice he visited Accumoli, Arquata del Tronto and San Pellegrino di Norcia.

The visit was live tweeted by the Pope's new director of communicatons, Greg Burke, and from the Pope's own Twitter account. 

Vatican Radio reported that he prayed with survivors on what was the feast day of his namesake, St Francis. He encouraged them to "move forward" because there is always a future.

He was accompanied by the Bishop of Rieti, Domenico Pompili.

Pope Francis told the survivors he met in the town: "I thought long and hard in the first days of these many pains that my visit, perhaps, would be more of a hindrance than a help, a greeting.

"I didn't want to be a bother so I let a little time pass, so that some things could be resolved, like the school. But from the first moment, I felt that I needed to come to you, simply to express my closeness to you, nothing more. And I pray, pray for you.

"Solidarity and prayer: this is my offering to you. May the Lord bless you all; may Our Lady watch over you in this moment of sadness, pain, and trial."

After blessing them, he said: "Let's move forward; there is always a future. There are many loved ones who have left us, who fell here under the rubble. Let us pray to Our Lady for them; let us do it together. Always look ahead. Courage, and help each other. One walks better together, alone we go nowhere. Forward! Thank you."

He also spent several minutes praying alone in the badly-damaged town centre.

Earlier, the Holy See press office said he would make this visit privately and quoted the Pope saying he wanted to do it  "alone, as a priest, as a bishop, as Pope. But alone. This is how I want to do it. And I would like to be close to the people."