Pope Francis has come and gone, and he’s already yesterday’s news for the media. I didn’t get to see much of the coverage because I was occupied with visitors from out of town. I did see the Philadelphia Mass yesterday afternoon and heard a bit of the commentary then. That, and the bits and pieces during the preceding days, from Catholic and secular sources, left a few impressions.

The strongest impression was that he seemed tired, even more tired than the more elderly Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whom I saw at the stadium in Washington several years ago. Pope Benedict seemed almost sprightly by comparison—and I don’t recall him being physically assisted as Pope Francis was. Pope Francis’ speech was very slurred, whether he spoke in English or in Spanish. Pope Benedict had a heavy German accent, but his speech was clear and strong. Pope Francis sounded almost as though he were medicated. I was reminded of Pope St. John Paul II, whose Parkinson’s disease slurred his speech almost to unintelligibility. As for what he said and didn’t say: It seemed as though he gave news commentators, pope-watchers, social and political/ecclesial activists of all stripes just enough to grab, hold aloft and claim victory—and just little enough to keep them all from being completely satisfied.

The crowds, determined to have an emotional experience, would have been hard to deter from their purpose—so I don’t think much actual impetus there was needed, even if he’d wanted it. I remember Billy Graham crusades on television. As Rev. Graham often said, it wasn’t he who converted so many thousands of people, but the Holy Spirit. And I’d hazard a guess that their minds were made up beforehand; they only waited for his appearance and invitation. Just so, the emotional experience of Pope Francis’ visit was not a cause but a catalyst; people were primed for it and only waited for him to appear.

Predictable praise and complaint from predictable sources, often both sides of the same mouths: He spoke for religious freedom; he didn’t speak strongly enough for religious freedom. He spoke against abortion; he didn’t speak strongly enough—etc. It’s a matter of selective hearing. It’s also a matter of speaking to people who engage in that kind of hearing. On reflection, I think the Holy Father’s fatigue is no cause for concern, and not at all mysterious. It must be exhausting to please all the people all the time; most previous popes never had such a task.