Republican presidential candidate and former senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania reportedly became emotional during an interview on "The View'' on Wednesday while sharing how Pope Francis spent a brief time with his family and blessed his seven-year old daughter Bella, who suffers from a rare disability.

"It was a great blessing! He held her and he kissed her and blessed her," said Santorum, who according to CNN is an "evangelical Catholic.''

He said the family was incredibly blessed to attend the Pope's departure ceremony over the weekend in Philadelphia, which gathered tens of thousands of people and families from all over.

"It was a very special time. We didn't have the front row seats but two people saw our daughter there and gave up their two seats (for us),'' he told The View.

In his interview with CNN, Santorum said his family now has pictures and memories of Pope Francis holding and kissing his daughter.

Bella was diagnosed with Trisomy 18, a rare genetic condition that manifests chromosomal abnormality and whose survival rate is very slim or approximately one year, CNN said.

But the former senator believes that with the Pope's blessing Bella is "a miracle.''

Santorum also reportedly discussed the ongoing Planned Parenthood hearings but maintained his position on having the organisation defunded in favour of women's health centres.

"I'm for reallocating every dollar that goes to Planned Parenthood and putting them in women's health centres that actually provide more comprehensive services than Planned Parenthood does," he said.

"There are much more comprehensive women's health centres. Women are probably going to get a more holistic health screening at those places than Planned Parenthood,'' he told CNN.

Santorum was among four Republican candidates who graced the Values Voter Summit held last week in Washington D.C. The others were retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.