By Courtney Mares
Vatican City, Mar 13, 2025 / 16:10 pm
Pope Francis celebrated the 12th anniversary of his pontificate on Thursday at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he has been undergoing treatment for pneumonia for almost a month.
To mark the occasion, hospital staff surprised the 88-year-old pope with a cake adorned with candles. He also received numerous drawings, messages, and letters from children and well-wishers around the world.
Despite his health condition, Pope Francis continued his medical treatment, physiotherapy, and oxygen therapy on Thursday. He also took part in spiritual exercises and spent time in prayer at the hospital chapel.
In the afternoon, he joined the Roman Curia’s spiritual exercises virtually and continued with respiratory therapy. The Vatican confirmed that his clinical state, though stable, remains complex, with ongoing respiratory support both during the day and night.
Friday will mark one month since the pope’s hospitalization. His doctors recently announced that he is no longer in immediate danger from the respiratory infection, and a chest X-ray showed a slight improvement in his lungs. However, there is no set timeline for his discharge.
Elected as the 266th pope on March 13, 2013, at the age of 76, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis. He is known for being the first Latin American pope and the first Jesuit pope.
To honor the 12th anniversary of Pope Francis’ pontificate, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin will celebrate a Mass for the pope on Friday morning in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace, with members of the diplomatic corps present. The Mass will be broadcast live on Vatican Media at 10:30 a.m.
