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Pope Francis was delighted by the in-flight entertainment provided on his way to Cairo last Friday. He was presented with last week’s edition of The Tablet by our enterprising Rome correspondent, Christopher Lamb, who was travelling with the Pope on the Alitalia aircraft, nicknamed “Shepherd One”.

Francis was given his copy as he walked through economy class to greet each journalist flying with him one by one.

There was a flurry of smartphones being pointed in their direction as an intrigued Francis smilingly read the cover headline, “Francis reaches out to the Muslim world”, while Lamb was introducing himself. “I am an English Vatican journalist,” he said.

Never short of an aperçu, and with news still fresh of the startling decision in defiance of the Pope of Fra’ Matthew Festing to travel to Rome for the election of his successor as Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, Lamb added: “But don’t worry. I’m not a Knight of Malta.” The Pope burst out laughing. “Sei cattivo!” (“You’re wicked!”) he told our man.