Pope Francis celebrated his 87th birthday on Sunday, December 17, 2023.
He is now the oldest pope in the last century, as well as one of the Church's oldest popes.
Pope Francis will be the 266th pope, succeeding St. Peter as the oldest pope in history. Pope Leo XIII was the oldest pope in history, reigning until his death at the age of 93 in 1903.
Few popes have served at the age of 87, and Francis' predecessor, Benedict XVI, died at the age of 95 after stepping down from the papacy a few months after turning 86.
The pontiff mentioned his health and age in an exclusive interview with the Mexican news site N+ earlier this week, claiming the situation is better but asking for prayer.
“I need you to pray for my health [because] … old age does not come by itself … it does not make itself up, it presents itself as it is,” Francis said.
It is no secret that Pope Francis has suffered from a number of health concerns during his papacy but has not considered retiring, while Benedict cited health issues as the principal cause for his retirement in 2013.
Francis canceled a few public events between December 2020 and January 2021 due to sciatic nerve pain, and he was hospitalized in July 2021 for diverticulitis-related intestinal difficulties.
The pontiff stated in January 2022 that he was suffering from knee pain, forcing him to cancel several public appearances.
Francis announced in May 2022 that he would be having knee surgery and would be utilizing a wheelchair for the first time since his colon surgery.
After declaring in January that his diverticulitis had resurfaced, he postponed a few public events in February and March owing to a bad cold and a respiratory infection.
He had surgery in June to correct an incisional hernia, and he had to cancel other travels in November due to the virus.
Although no arrangements for Francis' 86th birthday have been publicized, the Pope celebrated three charity personalities on Sunday and will deliver his weekly Sunday Angelus at noon.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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