87 and hobbled, Pope Francis goes off-script in Asia and reminds world he can still draw a crowd

Pope Francis leaves after leading a holy mass at Tasitolu park in Dili, East Timor, Sept. 10, 2024. Pope Francis holds a news conference aboard the papal plane on his flight back after his 12-day journey across Southeast Asia and Oceania, Sept. 13, 2024. Pope Francis, left, meets with indigenous people at the Holy Trinity Humanistic School in Baro, near Vanimo, Papua New Guinea, Sept. 8, 2024. Pope Francis receives a gift from the Archbishop of Dili Cardinal Virgilio do Carmo da Silva at the end of a votive mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary Queen he presided over in Tasitolu, some 8 kilometers west of Dili, East Timor, Sept. 10, 2024. In this handout photograph taken on Sept. 13, 2024 and released by Vatican Media, Pope Francis (C) takes part in an interreligious meeting with young people at the Catholic Junior College in Singapore.

It was the farthest trip of his pontificate and one of the longest papal trips ever in terms of days on the road and distance traveled. But Pope Francis, age 87, hobbled by bad knees and bent over with sciatica, appeared to be having the time of his life.