Pope Francis asks pensioners to pray for him as he's 'a little old and a little sick'

Remarks were made in jest during a private meeting with Ostia parishioners

Pope Francis gestures as he speaks during an audience on 2nd May (AFP)

Pope Francis has admitted that he is a “little old and a little sick” in a private audience with Italian pensioners over the weekend.

The 78-year-old Pontiff shared prayers and a joke with elderly and ill members of Rome’s seaside Ostia parish as he joined them for a Mass on Sunday.

“Pray for me, too, eh," the Pope asked parishioners during the private meeting, later broadcast by Catholic channel TV2000.

“I’m a little old and a little sick, but not too much," he reportedly told a laughing audience.

It’s hardly the first indication that the Pope’s not in it for the long-run, after he remarked in March that he didn’t mind being Pope but wished he could pop out for a pizza unnoticed.

The same month he gave an interview to a Mexican broadcaster in which he said: “I have a feeling that my pontificate will be brief - four or five years, even two or three. Two have already passed."

Although the Pope appears in seemingly good health, his humorous aside may not amuse Vatican watchers.

Intense speculation always surrounds a Pontiff’s well-being and never more so since Francis’ predecessor, Benedict, resigned.

Pope Benedict, the first leader of the Catholic Church to resign in 600 years, claimed he was too old and frail to continue leading 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide.

Additional reporting by Reuters