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Girl, 3, snatches Pope Francis' hat from his head

By Ben Hooper
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March 22 (UPI) -- A 3-year-old girl introduced to Pope Francis in Rome Wednesday was caught on camera snatching the pontiff's hat right off his head.

Mountain Butorac tweeted a video Wednesday showing what happened when his goddaughter, Estella Westrick, 3, was lifted by a Vatican aide to receive a kiss from the pope following his Wednesday audience.

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The video shows Pope Francis lean in for a kiss, giving the girl her opening to snatch his skullcap and hold it high in the air.

The pontiff appears to take the attempted theft in good humor and quickly gets his cap back.

"Took my goddaughter to meet the pope. She stole his hat!" Butorac tweeted.

"Right before she went up she was a little nervous," Butorac told CNN. "Then she stole his hat. It was hilarious, everyone was laughing including the pope."

He said the girl and her parents are currently visiting Rome from Atlanta.

"It's her first full day in Rome, who knows what she will get up to tomorrow," Butorac said.

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