Passionate ... Tango enthusiasts dance in front of St Peter's square to celebrate Pope Francis 78th birthday on December 17. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

With the recent gloomy weather giving way to sparkling sunshine and an azure sky on Wednesday, an even higher authority than the Pontiff appeared to have given his blessing to the celebrations.

The Pope was born Jose Bergoglio on December 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, also the birthplace of the tango, a sultry dance with strong sexual connotations that was once described as a sensual metaphor for life.

The dancers, from all over Italy and further afield, were among 13,000 people at St Peter’s for the Pope’s weekly public audience.

Non-dancing wellwishers came bearing gifts including a birthday cake and mate, a traditional Argentinian drink, before listening to the leader of the world’s Catholics issue a solemn condemnation of recent terrorist atrocities in Pakistan, Yemen and Australia.

Having being briefed on what was going to follow, Pope Francis paid tribute to the assembled dancers during the section of his address where he greets the various groups in the square.

“I see the ‘tangeros’ are here. They will put on a great show and bring a wind from the pampas over here,” he said in Spanish.

Around midday, the dancing started.

Cristina Carmorani, a dance teacher from Conventello, near Ravenna in north-eastern Italy came up with the idea for the birthday tango and launched an appeal for couples via Facebook.

“I am not a believer, but I wanted to pay tribute to the Pope for what he has done and the changes he has initiated,” said one of the dancers, Achille Lolla.

The Pope revealed his passion for the beguiling tunes to which the dance is performed in an interview several years before he became Pontiff.

The Vatican press office said there would be a surprise for the poor later in the day, without releasing any further details.