The Pope has met five survivors of clerical sex abuse, the Catholic Church confirmed.
The meeting lasting between 30 and 40 minutes took place in an undisclosed location in the Westminster area of central London, a spokeswoman for the Church said.
Three of the victims were from the Yorkshire area, one from London and one from Scotland.
Bill Kilgallon, chairman of the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission, (NCSC) said: "They were understandably quite emotional at the prospect of meeting the Pope but looking forward to the opportunity to tell him about their experiences."
The Pope earlier apologised for the "unspeakable crimes" committed by Catholic priests who sexually abused children.