MAINTAINING 'social distance' was always going to be a particular challenge for Pope Francis.
From sharing an embrace and holding hands to talking one-on-one to pilgrims and posing for photographs, this is a Pope who not only loves people, but also loves being close to them.
This has been a feature of Francis's papacy from its very first hours.
Following his presentation to the crowd in St Peter's Square immediately after his election, the Pope shunned the papal limousine that had been laid on to bring him back to the cardinals' accommodation.
Instead, he got on a minibus with other clergy. "I'll just go with the guys on the bus," he told the bemused Vatican officials.
In the days afterwards, I well remember the looks of horror on the faces of the security guards assigned to protect him as Francis, smiling broadly, would suddenly dive into the dense crowds in St Peter's Square to greet a familiar face or a group of Argentine pilgrims.
No other global figure or leader is as accessible as Pope Francis.
But a tendency to give his security people palpitations has, since the Covid-19 pandemic started to pummel Europe, been compounded by health concerns.
At 83 years old and with part of a lung removed due to an illness in his twenties, the Pope is firmly in the high risk category for coronavirus.
Indeed, the lung condition is thought to explain the slight breathlessness and quiet voice often apparent when he speaks.
Italy's Covid-19 lockdown and similar measures in the Vatican from March emptied Rome of visitors and stopped the Pope's travels.
One of the most poignant images from those early weeks of the pandemic was Pope Francis's 'urbi et orbi' blessing to a dark, rain-soaked and empty St Peter's Square - an occasion normally attended by thousands.
As restrictions eased during the summer, the pilgrims returned and Pope Francis's mid-week general audience resumed.
Although numbers have been limited and there have been efforts to introduce social distancing, the Pope has clearly been keen that this should be conducted in as close to a pre-Covid fashion as possible.
Recently he was seen pushing into the crowd and hugging people.
The Pope wasn't wearing a face covering, and nor were many of the pilgrims - despite the Vatican falling into line with Italian regulations last week and requiring people to use face masks inside and out.
It may have been well intentioned, but it was a poor witness and example; Covid-19 cases are on the rise again, with the Lazio region around the Vatican itself experiencing some of Italy's sharpest increases.
All of this means there is heightened concern about how wise it is for the Pope to continue to be so close to visitors.
There have been 19 cases in the Vatican city state, with four Swiss Guards testing positive this week alone.
In response to this, the Pope's general audience last Wednesday, held in the Vatican's enormous Paul VI hall, was conducted in a different fashion.
Rather than wading through the crowd, he instead came directly to the stage through a back door.
"I would like to come down as usual and get close to you to greet you, but with new prescriptions, we would better keep our distances," Francis told the pilgrims.
Whether the general audiences will be able to continue through the autumn against the backdrop of a second surge of coronavirus cases seems doubtful.
Social distancing, let alone wearing a mask, is not something that comes easy to Pope Francis, who believes that a priest's duty is to be so close to their flock that they become a shepherd who lives with "the smell of the sheep".
But in these strange, unprecedented days, the best way to keep the sheep safe may in fact be for the shepherd to keep his distance.
