Pope Francis says he does not like travelling, even though he has been touring the world at a faster rate than any of his predecessors.
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"Well, I'll tell you a secret: I don't like to travel. It's true! It's true!" the pontiff said in a Vatican audience with 400 children from Italy.
He joked that his globe-trotting routine was a punishment, comparing it to the way in which a spoilt child who refuses his food may be forced to eat double servings of it.
"It's true that when you travel you always find people, good people, and you learn a lot travelling. But I don't like travelling, it's in my nature," he insisted.
The papal meeting with children, who came from Sardinia and Genoa, took place on Saturday, but the Vatican released a transcript of it on Sunday.
Since his election in March 2013, Francis has taken 30 foreign trips, an average of five per year. Benedict XVI and John Paul II averaged, respectively, 3 and 3.85 foreign trips per year.
Francis has most recently been in Romania, from May 31 to June 2. One country he has not visited yet is his native Argentina, much to the chagrin of his compatriots.
Australian Associated Press
