Lashed by an off-season typhoon, Pope Francis stepped out on a rain-soaked makeshift stage in front of hundreds of thousands of weeping pilgrims in the central Philippines. Organisers had warned him to cancel the 2015 open air mass in Tacloban as the weather had worsened.

The leader of the world’s 1 billion Roman Catholics addressed past scandals and embraced migrants, the poor and gay and lesbian faithful. Some wished he’d gone further.

A longtime Vatican correspondent shares his insights on the legacy of Pope Francis, a populist leader who sought to bring the Church closer to the people.