Pope Francis has apologised after angrily swatting away the hand of a woman who grabbed him as he was meeting members of the public outside the Vatican. 

Addressing the controversy, the Pope admitted he had "lost patience" after the woman grabbed hold of him to shake his hand in St Peter's Square on New Year's Eve. 

"We lose patience many times," he acknowledged.

"It happens to me too. I apologise for the bad example given yesterday."

He had been visiting the Nativity scene in front of St Peter's Basilica after leading a New Year's Eve service giving thanks for the past year. 

The Pope was visibly annoyed as he freed himself from the woman's grasp. 

He later used his New Year's Day message to denounce all forms of violence against women. 

In his homily during Mass in St Peter's Basilica, he called violence against women "a desecration of God". 

Denouncing adult content, the pontiff said that the female body "must be freed from consumerism, it must be respected and honoured".

"How often is a woman's body sacrificed on the profane altar of advertising, profit, p**nography, exploited as a surface to be used," he said. 

He continued: "We can understand our level of humanity by the way we treat a woman's body."