Sunday, August 23, 2026

Pope Francis marks 12th anniversary in hospital

Pope Francis marked the anniversary of his election as the head of the Catholic Church in hospital, according to a statement from the Vatican on Thursday morning

• March 13, 2025
Pope in hospital
Pope in hospital [Credit: YouTube]

Pope Francis marked the anniversary of his election as the head of the Catholic Church in hospital, according to a statement from the Vatican on Thursday morning.

Thursday marks 12 years since the pope was elected as the successor to the German pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger.

The pope started his day after a quiet night in the hospital, the Vatican said.

Following the unexpected resignation of Benedict XVI in 2013, then-Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as the new pope on March 13, 2013.

He is the fifth ballot of the conclave, the secret gathering of cardinals that chooses the pontiff.

The election anniversary is a public holiday in the Vatican, but no special events are planned.

The 88-year-old Francis has been undergoing treatment for the past month at the Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

He is suffering from double pneumonia.

The pope is on the path to a slight improvement, though this is progressing slowly, the attending doctors have said.

It remains unclear how much longer he will need to stay in the hospital.

(dpa/NAN)

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike

Abuja

Completion of abandoned projects hallmark of my three-year tenure: Wike 

Mr Wike said his team had remained committed to its mandate despite initial challenges.

Debt Management Office (DMO)

NationWide

Stakeholders fault remittance of unclaimed dividends to DMO

The shareholders said unclaimed dividends remained the property of investors.

Biodun Oyebanji and Oba Adeniyi Ajakaiye

States

Union seeks amicable resolution to Oyebanji, Oluyin chair dispute

IDFU is the socio-cultural umbrella body representing all Iyin-Ekiti sons and daughters.

PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU

NationWide

2027: Muslim clerics urge Nigerians to vote for Tinubu

Mr Darma described the endorsement as the resolution of the meeting.