Pope Francis and the little girl who could

As Francis drew nearer and nearer in his open-sided popemobile and the crowd in Washington whooped, squealed and quivered, the little girl with black pigtails could take the excitement no more.

She clambered over a metal barrier, darted out onto stately Constitution Avenue and headed straight for the pontiff -- Secret Service agents be damned.

Guards nabbed her about half-way there, but then the pope waved for them to bring her to him. And for all her trouble, little Sofia Cruz, a Los Angeles Hispanic aged five, got a gentle hoist, then a hug and a kiss from Pope Francis himself.

"She came back and her father was just in tears. And the whole crowd in my section were just going nuts," said Joseph Reblando, another pope-greeter who happened to be standing right next to the girl and her dad and caught it all on film. It shows Sofia having a good cry, too, as her father embraces her.

Thus went one small slice of Pope Francis' ride through crowds of faithful in downtown Washington on Wednesday, along the National Mall, past the Washington Monument, after talks with President Barack Obama during his first US visit.

But it was not the day's only unexpected gesture of papal affection: earlier, at Francis' behest, a baby was held up to him for a kiss on the forehead.

The atmosphere was festive on a beautifully sunny day, with a cool breeze hinting at the first nip of autumn. Hawkers sold pope-everything -- T-shirts, banners, tote bags and more.

Thousands of people lined the streets for a brief glimpse of the 78-year-old Argentine pontiff, who stood, smiled and waved from his shiny white popemobile.

Those who could perched on sidewalk benches. Kids rode their parents' shoulders.

A large screen TV aired Obama and the pope speaking earlier at an outdoor ceremony at the White House. The waiting crowd roared when Obama noted the US is home to some 70 million Catholics, and cheered again when the pope said, in halting English, "God Bless America."

Ask just about anybody in the crowd and they'd rave about the man, about his shift away from stressing church doctrine against same sex marriage, say, and focusing more on helping the world's poor and its refugees and migrants and on fighting global warming.

- A 'very different' pope -

"I think this guy is very different. He's kind of a futuristic pope, so down to earth, so humble, so loving, and leading by example," said Cristina Temboury, 46, a civil servant.

"He is a fantastic leader, somebody we need," she added.

Puthupparampil Scaria, a 59-year-old Catholic born in India, put it this way: "He is so genuine. He is more like a pastor than a pope."

Temboury's only lament of the day was what she called a catastrophic cellphone blunder: at the moment of truth, after so many hours of waiting, she had the thing set on selfie.

"I took 15 pictures of myself as the pope was going by," she said, laughing.

Indeed, a veritable forest of arms with hands clenching mobile phones rose up when the pope rode by. One young woman fiddling with her phone started crying because she said she could not see him.

One older Catholic, retired electrical engineer Don Sasnacht, 72, called Francis amazing and praised his communications skills in particular.

He admitted he finds hard to stomach the widespread impression that Francis is less rigid on hot button social issues like gay marriage.

Still, he said he is willing to forgive the pope on that one.

"It comes with the package. I mean, when was the last time you saw a president that you agreed with 100%?," Sasnacht mused.

Yet another well-wisher was Gabi Espinola, age eight, who squirmed and giggled when asked what a pope is and what he does.

"He prays for us. He helps kids," said Espinola, wearing an electric pink hoodie. "He's the top. The top Catholic."