POPE FRANCIS sat in a white chair at the top of St Peter’s Square, head bowed and eyes closed in prayer, as the choir sang the Alleluia. It was Sunday morning and he was nearing the end of the 96-hour liturgical marathon that is the Easter Triduum, during which the 81-year-old had delivered six homilies and addresses, visited a prison where he had washed 12 inmates’ feet, and, on Good Friday, had led the procession around the Colosseum to recall Christ’s Passion.

Unsurprisingly, Francis looked tired.