It’s a particularly special month for Pope Francis. He marks the forty-fourth anniversary of his priestly ordination on 13 December and his seventy-seventh birthday four days later. The Pope, who often asks Christians to celebrate the date of their baptism, will commemorate his own initiation into the Catholic faith on Christmas night. December also holds out important pastoral significance for Papa Francesco. Last Saturday he ushered in Advent by celebrating First Vespers with Rome’s university students. The next afternoon he spent three hours at a parish in a poor neighbourhood on the outskirts of the city – chatting with the crowds, hearing confessions, meeting the sick and then celebrating Mass. But before leaving, he commiserated with frustrated parishioners who had