As 2018 draws to an end, it began with an intense papal trip to Chile and Peru, which included the pope’s most crowded Mass in America.
Among the best images of the year are the unforgettable gestures of the pope during his 'Friday of Mercy;' the great ceremonies in St. Peter’s Basilica; his meeting with thousands of families in Ireland and his visit to the cell which imprisoned several bishops in the Baltic States.
It is a year in which, for the first time, the pope was moved to tears in public. This happened when he thanked the Chinese bishops for visiting the Vatican, evoking the unity of the successors of the apostles with the successor of Peter.
