Pope Francis has said that to retain a sense of peace he writes down all his problems in notes to St Joseph.

During an audience with religious superiors, the Pope said there was “corruption” in the Vatican but that he was at peace. When asked by one of the superiors about how he keeps his sense of peace, Pope Francis joked that he didn’t take tranquillisers.

He said: “The Italians offer a good lesson – to live in peace you need a healthy ‘couldn’t care less’ attitude. I don’t mind telling you that what I am going through is a completely new experience for me.