Pope celebrates anniversary by sharing cake with hospital staff
Elise Ann Allen/ Crux• March 13, 2025
Pope Francis today celebrated the 12th anniversary of his election to the papacy by sharing a cake with staff assisting him at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he has been admitted since mid-February for what has become a month-long hospital stay.
The Vatican said that in the afternoon, 13 March, “healthcare staff brought a cake with candles to the Pope’s room to celebrate the 12th anniversary of his election”.
Francis, 88, was elected pope on 13 March 2013, at the age of 76, and instantly captured the world’s attention due to his simplicity and proximity to people, along with his emphasis on the poor and vulnerable.
He has been in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital since Feb. 14, having been admitted for treatment of bronchitis and later diagnosed with a complex respiratory infection and double pneumonia that have caused several respiratory crises, and which put him in a critical condition for several days.
However, despite these setbacks, he has been stable for the past week, and doctors have determined that while his situation remains complex, as he is missing part of one lung and suffers from chronic respiratory illness, he is no longer in immediate danger of death.
A chest-scan and lab tests earlier this week showed improvement in his overall status. However, doctors have not provided a potential discharge date, saying the complexity of his clinical status will require several more days of hospitalisation.
The Vatican said that in addition to celebrating his anniversary, in the afternoon Pope Francis followed by video connection, as he did yesterday, the ongoing Lenten retreat spiritual exercises of the Roman Curia taking place 9-14 March in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.
The retreat spiritual exercises are being led by Capuchin friar and biblical scholar Father Roberto Pasolini, the new preacher of the Papal household.
After the spiritual exercises, Pope Francis continued his respiratory therapy, the Vatican said.
The Pope remains on high-flow oxygen administered through the nose during the day, and at night uses non-invasive mechanical ventilation, with an oxygen mask adhered tightly over his nose and mouth.
The Vatican’s 13 March statement added that “the clinical situation remains stable, in a complex framework”.
It said that another official medical bulletin will be provided Saturday evening, local time in Rome, 15 March.
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Photo: A cake bearing a photo of Pope Francis on display in a pastry shop in Nairobi, Kenya, ahead of a papal visit to Africa, 24 November 2015. (Photo credit SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images.)