Watch: cow attends Pope's prayer as part of European farmers' protest

A cow was among thousands of faithful and tourists in St Peter's Square in the Vatican on Sunday to attend the traditional Angelus prayer of Pope Francis.

The cow was brought to the Vatican by a group of breeders as part of the European farmers' protest.

The cow, called 'Ercolina', which has become one of the symbols of the protest in Italy, was led along Via della Conciliazione and then arrived in the piazza to be milked, to the amazement of those waiting for the pope to appear at the window of his study.

“I hand wrote a letter to Pope Francis asking if we could come to the Angelus to have the cow blessed," breeder Pietro Tavazzani said it would be an honour and left his telephone number.

"One evening I received a call from the Vatican, from the secretary (of the pope), asking if we farmers and breeders wanted to come 18 February with the cow in tow, that the pope would let us in the square,” Tavazzani said.

In recent weeks, as part of the protests that have erupted in many other European countries, hundreds of farmers and their tractors have gathered on the outskirts of Rome.

They demand fair prices for their products, the continuation of the reduction of taxes on agricultural diesel, stricter controls on imports from third countries, a reduction in bureaucracy, as well as other concessions.