Pope Francis at 88: Undeterred by age, prepares for Holy Year
Pope Francis is celebrating his 88th birthday. He is one of the oldest popes in the history of the Church and the oldest traveling around the world. Currently, the pope is preparing for the inauguration of the Holy Year. Despite his age and health issues, he doesn't slow down and continues his intense activities.
Pope Francis, who is just celebrating his 88th birthday, is one of the oldest popes in the history of the Catholic Church. Despite his advanced age, he still actively travels around the world. Two days before his birthday, he visited Corsica, and in a week, he will inaugurate the Holy Year, which will be a significant challenge for his health and strength.
Pope Francis's birthday
Pope Francis is turning 88. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on December 17, 1936, in a poor district of Buenos Aires, to an Italian immigrant family. 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 from 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 without referencing his predecessors' names.
Preparations for the Holy Year
Pope Francis has no time for celebration. His birthday will be a regular workday, filled with preparations for the Holy Year, proclaimed every 25 years. Francis will solemnly begin the Great Jubilee on Christmas Eve by 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 December 26, the pope will, for the first time, open the Holy Doors at Rome's Rebibbia prison. The Vatican described this as a groundbreaking moment in the Jubilee's history. Rebibbia will become a "symbol of all the world's prisons," it 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 foreign trips. So far, he has made 47 trips, including the longest to Asia and Oceania, covering about 21,000 miles.
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 can't travel at the same pace as before. At my age and with my limitations, I have to pace myself more to continue serving the Church," he told journalists.
He openly acknowledged considering the possibility of stepping down, emphasizing that it wouldn’t be a catastrophe and that changing the pope is entirely feasible. However, he added that, for now, he must avoid overexertion. Despite this, 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, though he expressed hope for a visit at the end of 2024.
Despite many invitations, Francis has not yet traveled to Ukraine, arguing that he wants to visit Ukraine and Russia. These plans currently seem unrealistic.
Among the pope's opponents, mainly within conservative circles, there was a recent initiative right before his birthday to mobilize preparations for the next conclave.
One of the conservative American publications has just launched a portal that is already discussing the election of a new pope and presenting the profiles of cardinals with the greatest chances of being elected during the conclave.
