Animal rights protesters interrupted Pope Francis' prayer in Rome.

Footage shows two women running to the aisle inside the church during a prayer service led by the pope in Italy on January 25.

The activists raised posters calling to condemn bullfighting, saying: 'Stop Blessing Corridas.'

Security immediately assisted the protesters, who claimed they were from the nongovernment organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA, to the back exit of the church, and the service resumed.

PETA vice president for the UK and Europe, Mimi Bekhechi, said they urge the pope to denounce the brutal sport.

She emphasised that bullfighting held a contradiction between the church's teachings of mercy and its being a ‘blood sport.'

According to PETA, tens of thousands of bulls suffered in these global spectacles, with many being done in celebration of festivals dedicated to Catholic saints.