If nothing else, Pope Francis’s recent visit to the U.S. has shown that the 79-year-old head of the Holy See is one spry guy.

A day after the Pope arrived in Washington, Francis met with President Obama, participated in a Papal Parade, offered a Midday Prayer with U.S. bishops at Saint Matthew’s Cathedral and then gave Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

And that was just on Wednesday.

Delivering his speech to Congress the next day, Sept. 24, Francis addressed the importance of not only respecting the elderly, but seeking out their council. 

As Time reports, Francis said he would "like to enter into dialogue with the many elderly persons who are a storehouse of wisdom forged by experience, and who seek in many ways, especially through volunteer work, to share their stories and their insights."

"I know that many of them are retired, but still active; they keep working to build up this land," he added.

Pope Francis, who before coming to the U.S. stopped in Cuba for a very successful meeting with the leaders and people of the communist nation, has spoken about the consequences of ignoring the aged before.

Huffington Post reports that last May, while addressing the Rome meeting of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Francis had harsh, biblically-based words for people that ignore the elderly, saying, "The biblical commandment that requires us to honor our parents, understood broadly, reminds us of the honor we must show to all elderly people."

With over two dozen events crammed in to his five day visit to the U.S. the energetic pontiff seems to be making a very good case for expecting more out of the elderly.

Words he offered to a general audience last spring suggest that much of his stamina might come from his mindset. Speaking on the subject of old age, the Catholic Herald quotes the Pope as saying, “It’s still not time to ‘rest on one’s oars.’”