It was the cheering you noticed first: the relentless cries of “Ben-ny, Ben-ny, Ben-ny” that rose up over the drone of helicopters overhead and were carried along the blue expanse of Sydney Harbour to where Pope Benedict XVI was standing. Initially he had been ushered to an ornate chair on the first-floor deck of the Sydney 2000 but barely moments had passed before he was on his feet again, waving to revellers who lined the foreshores in every direction. At times he appeared taken aback by the extraordinary reception. Shortly after embarking at 2.30pm, he beamed at a group of cardinals clustered on the deck below, raising his eyebrows as if to say, “Is this really all for me?” But the answer, if one was necessary, was delivered by ecstatic pilgrims on passing cruisers who rendered the 100m exclusion zone around the papal boat irrelevant with cheers that seemed to echo around the Harbour. On one vessel, a sign that read “The Pope of hope” was unfurled, while outside the Opera House, another said, “We love you, Pope Benedict”.

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