Icon of humility and charity

I TRAVELLED halfway round the globe from Malaysia to Italy over a gruelling two-day journey hoping to shake the hand of Pope Francis, but ended up shaking the hand of an Italian inspector at a police station in Rome.

Not only did I fail to meet the Pope, two of my friends fell victim to a gang of teenage pickpockets on the subway in Rome, and lost their valuables, which included a passport, identity card, several credit cards and a hefty amount of cash.