knelt

It is said that her parents took her to the shrine where she knelt before the place where the apparition was seen.

"My heart was beating, I was less than 100 metres away. I slipped between the security agents; knelt down and asked the Pope for his blessing," the journalist remembers.

For Christians, the Maundy Thursday service marks the Last Supper - and the King's message speaks of the humility of Jesus who "knelt and washed the feet of many of those who would abandon him".

About 20 women, many of whom looked like aspiring actors, knelt on the numbered panels, while hinging at the waist and pulling a cable to execute a tricep press.

Every day for over a week, I knelt before a makeshift altar in my bedroom, anchored myself to my breath and performed a most Herculean feat: twice daily, hour-long meditations.