Valentina di Giorgio
(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 12.17.2023).- On Sunday, December 17, Pope Francis celebrated his 87th birthday. With this anniversary, he is added to the list of the three oldest Popes in the history of the Church.
Until December 16, Clement X held the third place, a Pope who began his pontificate on April 29, 1670 and died on July 22, 1676, at the age of 86. Pope Francis has displaced him, but there are still two Popes ahead of him: Leo XIII who reached the age of 93, and Clement XII , who reached the age of 88 as Pope.
What did the Pope do on his birthday?
The Pope celebrated his birthday in Paul VI Hall with children, specifically with children cared for by the Santa Marta dispensary of the Vatican. The children accompanied the Pope in a show with clowns and magic tricks and also when the time came to cut the cake.
Otherwise, the Pope followed the usual Sunday program, with the recitation of Angelus Marian prayer from Saint Peter’s Square.
