Pope Francis was warmly welcomed by the Corsican people on Sunday (December 15) during the first recorded visit by a pontiff to the French Mediterranean island.

During a brief ride in an open-air popemobile from the airport, the pope waved at crowds on the streets of Ajaccio, the capital of the island, appearing in good form despite the small bruise on his chin, the result of what the Vatican described as a minor fall in his bedroom last week.

Corsica, famed for its steep, mountainous terrain and as the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean. It is one of France's poorest regions, where about 20% of the population live below the poverty line, according to government figures.

READ: Francis makes first visit by a pope to Corsica

The Vatican estimates that about 81% of Corsica's population of 356,000 is Catholic. There are 83 priests on the island and some 30 Catholic nuns, it says.

Francis, originally from Argentina and the first pope from the Americas, has travelled widely around the Mediterranean since becoming pontiff in 2013, visiting Malta, the Greek island of Lesbos, and the Italian island of Lampedusa.

(Production: Clotaire Achi, Lucien Libert)