Rome - In his annual Holy Thursday Mass delivered to the diocese of Rome, Pope Francis recognised tiredness as something which affects all priests. The leader of the Catholic Church said these words prior to Easter weekend, one of the busiest in a Pope’s calendar.

 “The tiredness of priests!  Do you know how often I think about this weariness which all of you experience?  I think about it and I pray about it, often, especially when I am tired myself,” said Pope Francis to the congregation. “Our weariness, dear priests, is like incense which silently rises up to heaven.  Our weariness goes straight to the heart of the Father.”

 However the pontiff also spoke of the importance of priests’ work and warned against taking too much rest.

 “It can also happen that, whenever we feel weighed down by pastoral work, we can be tempted to rest however we please, as if rest were not itself a gift of God.  We must not fall into this temptation,” he said.

 As is also tradition on Holy Thursday, the Pope was to wash the feet of 12 men and women, who symbolise the disciples during Jesus’ last supper.

 For the third time in three years, Pope Francis will visit a prison in the vicinity of Rome and wash the feet of 12 inmates. Previously this has created controversy amongst more traditional Catholics as earlier pontiffs tended to select religious figures to represent the disciples.