Pope Francis on Wednesday morning blessed an electric racing car at the Vatican in front of his residence. The car which will be competing in Saturday's Rome Formula E race arrived at Santa Marta courtyard in front of Pope Francis' residence to receive blessings from the environmental friendly pontiff. The race car which is part of the Formula E Championship is said to be world's first fully-electric international single-seater street racing series.

According to a report in Vatican News, the Pope met a delegation of people representing the Formula E Championship, which is the world's first fully-electric international single-seater street racing series.

A team of managers, mechanics and pilots representing the Formula E Championship were part of the meeting. They also posed for photos with the car in the courtyard in front of the Pope's residence.

After the meeting, social media was soon filled with different reactions to the incident. While some asked if Pope Francis is a fan of race cars of racing events, others wanted to know if the other competitors in the event should be worried.

Check out pictures of Pope Francis blessing a racing car:

A couple drivers clicked selfies with Pope and the car in the background

Here are some of the Twitter reactions:

Will tough competition continue?

The event managers explained that the Formula E Championship is more than just a racing series. Reportedly, they said that the race provides a competitive platform for car manufacturers to test and develop electric vehicles. It also encourages the "zero carbon emissions" driving experience for car users all over the world. Photos released by Vatican Media, the Vatican press office, show Pope Francis blessing the car. The first-ever E-Prix will take place on the streets of Rome on April 14.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 12, 2018 04:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).