Pope Francis: For my anniversary I would like peace

Source: Vatican Media

Pope Francis marked the 10th anniversary of his election on Monday, 13 March, by celebrating Mass with cardinals in the chapel of Casa Santa Marta where he lives. Vatican Media also released a podcast by the Holy Father, in which he reflects on the past ten years.

"Time flies" he says "it's in a hurry. When you want to grasp today, it is already yesterday. To live like this is something new. These ten years have been like this: living in tension."

Of the thousands of audiences, the hundreds of visits to dioceses and parishes, the 40 apostolic journeys to every corner of the globe, the Pope has clear memories.

He says: "the most beautiful moment" was the meeting in St Peter's Square with the elderly - the audience with grandparents from all over the world on 28 September 2014…. "Old people are wisdom and they help me so much" he says. "I too am old, am I not?"

There have also been some very negative times, the Pope said. They are all related to the horror of war. First, Pope Francis mentioned his visits to the war cemeteries in Redipuglia and Anzio, the commemoration of the landing of the allies in Normandy, the vigil to stop the war in Syria, and now, "the barbarity" that has been going on for over a year in Ukraine.

"Behind the wars, there is the arms industry, this is diabolical," Pope Francis says.

Pope Francis said that he, a bishop that "came from the end of the earth" did not expect to become the Pope who would lead the Universal Church in the time of World War III: "I wasn't expecting it. I thought Syria was going to be unique, then came the others."

"It makes me suffer to see young men dying - be they Russian or Ukrainian, I don't care - not coming back. It is hard."

Pope Francis has no doubts about what to ask of the world as a gift for this important anniversary: "Peace, we need peace".

The Pope's "three dreams" for the Church, for the world and for those who govern the world, for humanity are: "Fraternity weeping, smiling..."

Listen to the podcast (in Italian): www.vaticannews.va/it/podcast/rvi-programmi/popecast/2023/03/popecast.html