It was an assignment fraught with potential pitfalls.
The Taoiseach’s challenging task was to welcome the leader of the church with which almost four out of five Irish people still affiliate with.
And it’s estimated that more than 700,000 people may come out to see the Pope today and tomorrow.
Yet, as Leo Varadkar told Pope Francis during their private meeting there are many with faith in their hearts who feel alienated from the Catholic Church over the clerical sex abuse scandals.
Striking the right tone then was imperative.
It needed to be both resolute yet mindful of the diplomatic constraints of a State reception.
In the end the Taoiseach delivered a speech that adhered to those demands.
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There was a warm welcome at the outset of the speech that was fittingly given voice in a hall named after the man who brought Christianity to Ireland.
Yet when it came to addressing the clerical abuse issue the Taoiseach’s words were uncompromising.
He asked the Pope to use his influence to bring about truth and justice for victims of clerical sex abuse both here and around the world.
And he said there can only be zero tolerance for those who abuse innocent children or who facilitate that abuse.
Again he demanded that actions must now flow from the Catholic Church’s words of repentance.
All this was done as the Pope sat just a few feet away from him which lends further weight to the unflinching nature of the speech.
Both the Pope and the Taoiseach alluded to a new beginning in the future relationship between the Catholic Church and the Irish State.
It seems that its early outline and shape has now been cast in St Patrick’s Hall.
