Pope Francis celebrated his 85th birthday Friday, a milestone made even more remarkable given the COVID-19 pandemic, his intestinal surgery over the summer and the weight of history: His predecessor, Benedict XVI, retired at this age, and the last pontiff to have lived longer was Leo XIII more than a century ago.
Francis appears to be still going strong, recently concluding a whirlwind trip to Cyprus and Greece after pandemic-defying jaunts earlier this year to Iraq, Slovakia and Hungary. He shows no sign of slowing down his campaign to make the post-COVID world a more environmentally sustainable, economically just and fraternal place where the poor are prioritized.
Francis also has set in motion an unprecedented two-year consultation of rank-and-file Roman Catholics on making the church more attuned to the laity.
“I see a lot of energy,” said the Rev. Antonio Spadaro, one of Francis’ trusted communications gurus. “What we’re seeing is the natural expression, the fruit of the seeds that he has sown.”
But Francis also is beset by problems at home and abroad and is facing a sustained campaign of opposition from the conservative Catholic right. He has responded with the papal equivalent of “No more Mr. Nice Guy.”