Bishop Helmut Krätzl, a former auxiliary in Vienna, is probably Austria’s most popular bishop. A keen young stenographer at Vatican II who took part in all the sessions, he had been expected to succeed Cardinal Franz König as archbishop in 1985. John Paul II appointed Hans Hermann Groër instead, a decision he came to regret. Groër stepped down in 1995 amid allegations that he had sexually abused young seminarians.

In spite of finding it increasingly difficult to walk – the result of a serious car accident – Krätzl still celebrates Masses and gives lively media interviews. One of his books got him into the soup with the Holy Office. He was called to Rome by Cardinal Ratzinger and made to promise that it would not be reprinted.

Christa Pongratz-Lippitt, who recently completed her first 30 years of writing for The Tablet from Austria, bumped into Krätzl recently at a book launch. “It was a freezing cold night with temperatures well below zero and an icy wind blowing,” she told us. “As I was struggling to get my gloves off and put a comb through my hair, I heard a familiar voice say: ‘Go slow, Mrs Tablet, we don’t want to trip.’ It was Helmut Krätzl. We are both 87, but he is my senior by three months.