Pope Francis Marks Ten Years as Pope
By Church News
Pope Francis marks ten years as head of the Catholic Church on Monday, 6th Feb.
When he appeared at the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica on March 13, 2013 in his plain white papal robes, the newly elected Jorge Bergoglio immediately presented an image of a different kind of papacy.
The smiling, outspoken Jesuit was in sharp contrast to his reserved, intellectual predecessor Benedict XVI, who shocked the world by becoming the first pope since the Middle Ages to resign.
Pope Francis had a plan to reform the governance of the Church plagued by inertia, clean up its murky finances and turn its focus outwards.
On the international stage, he has sought to forge alliances around the world, most notably between the Vatican and China, Muslim countries and the Russian Orthodox Church.
However, ties with the latter have been strained by the war in Ukraine, while little has come out of Francis’ offers to broker peace between Kyiv and Moscow.
Despite his advancing age and health problems — he was hospitalised in 2021 for colon surgery, and now uses a wheelchair due to knee trouble — Pope Francis continues to travel widely.
Huge crowds greeted him on a visit earlier this year to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, a testament to his ongoing popularity.
Catholics around the world will also remember his guidance during the coronavirus pandemic, particularly when he stood alone during a storm in St Peter’s Square in March 2020, urging believers to ease their fears through faith.
In Rome, Francis’ humble style — he chose a sober apartment over the gold of the apostolic palace and has invited the homeless and ex-prisoners to his table — signalled a shift in attitude from the start.