On one of the hottest days Portugal has had this summer, Pope Francis has finally come to the end of what has been an incredible schedule for World Youth Day. Television stations are carrying images of the papal cavalcade as it steams along the highway towards Figo Maduro airport (requiring hold-ups of traffic in the absolutely stonking heat all along the route). The above picture, of Portugal’s leaders attending the final event in Algés this afternoon, shows how hot it was: the prime minister is rarely photographed in a hat unless he is on holiday and on the beach. But for the Pope, being in the TAP plane bound for Rome, will not mean ‘time to relax’: he has a plane full of journalists to whom he will be talking throughout the flight. According to reports, there are “many well known international reporters” who will be wanting to ask the pontiff how he feels about the success and messages of this latest World Youth Day.
