Pope Francis turns 88: Unyielding spirit marks Holy Year debut
Pope Francis is celebrating his 88th birthday. He is one of the oldest popes in the Church's history and the oldest currently travelling worldwide. The Pope is preparing for the inauguration of the Holy Year. Despite his age and health issues, he shows no signs of slowing down and continues his intensive activities.
Pope Francis, who is now celebrating his 88th birthday, is among the oldest popes in the history of the Catholic Church. Despite his advanced age, he still travels actively around the world. Two days before his birthday, he visited Corsica, and in a week, he will inaugurate the Holy Year, which will pose a significant challenge to his health and strength.
Pope Francis's birthday
Pope Francis is turning 88. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on 17 December 1936 in a poor district of Buenos Aires into a family of Italian immigrants. At the age of 21, he decided to become a priest. He was elected Pope at the age of 77.
He is the first Bishop of Rome outside Europe and the first Jesuit to hold this position. However, that is not his only distinction. He is also the first Pope to choose the name Francis, not referencing the names of his predecessors.
Preparations for the Holy Year
Pope Francis has little time for celebration. His birthday will be a regular workday, full of preparations for the Holy Year, proclaimed every 25 years. Francis will solemnly begin the Great Jubilee on Christmas Eve, opening the Holy Doors at St. Peter's Basilica. This ceremony will be broadcast worldwide, and the Pope will lead the traditional Midnight Mass. Holy Doors will also be opened in several other papal basilicas in Rome.
Pope's intense schedule
On Christmas Day, Pope Francis will deliver a holiday message that traditionally attracts tens of thousands of people to St. Peter's Square and millions of viewers on television and the internet. On 26 December, the Pope will, for the first time, open the Holy Doors at Rome's Rebibbia prison, which the Vatican has described as a groundbreaking moment in the history of the Jubilee. Rebibbia will become a "symbol of all the world's prisons" - it was explained.
During the Holy Year, many Jubilees will take place, including pilgrimages of various professional and church groups to the Vatican. The first of these, the Jubilee of the media world, will take place in January, and in February, the Jubilee of the armed forces and police is planned. The Youth Jubilee is expected between July and August, which will draw hundreds of thousands of participants.
The Pope doesn’t slow down
Despite health problems, the Pope does not hold back in his daily service. Every day, he receives numerous groups and guests in audiences. After an intense visit to Corsica, Francis held eight audiences. Although he often uses a wheelchair due to knee problems, he does not give up his foreign trips. So far, he has made 47 trips, including the longest to Asia and Oceania, covering about 34,000 kilometres.
Two years ago, after returning from Canada, the Pope admitted that he needed to slow down his travels due to his age and health. "I don't think I can go at the same pace as I used to travel. I think that at my age and with this limitation, I have to save myself a little bit to be able to serve the Church," he told journalists.
Naturally, he acknowledged the option of stepping down, expressing that it wouldn’t be catastrophic and that even the Pope could be replaced without issue. For now, however, he emphasized the importance of conserving his energy. Nonetheless, he has since undertaken 10 trips across four continents.
Future plans
At the end of November, Francis announced that he plans to visit Turkey next year on the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. Possible travel destinations include the Canary Islands, affected by the migration crisis. Since the conclave in 2013, the Pope has not visited his native Argentina, although he expressed hope for a visit at the end of 2024.
Despite many invitations, Francis has not yet travelled to Ukraine, arguing that he wants to visit Ukraine and Russia. These plans currently seem unrealistic.
According to the Polish Press Agency, there was a recent initiative before his birthday to mobilise preparations for the next conclave amongst the Pope's opponents, mainly within conservative circles.
One of the conservative American publications has just launched a portal already discussing the election of a new Pope and presenting the profiles of cardinals with the greatest chances of being elected during the conclave.
