Vatican City, September 14 (ANI): Pope Leo XIV celebrated his 70th birthday on Sunday, expressing gratitude to all his well-wishers. The Pontiff also observed the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
In a post on X, he said, “Dear friends, today I turn seventy years old. I give thanks to the Lord and to my parents; and I thank all those who have remembered me in their prayers.”
“Today we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross: for the immense love with which God has transformed the means to death into an instrument of life, embracing it for our salvation, teaching us that nothing can separate us from him and that his love is greater than our own sin,” he added.
During the Angelus prayer, he blessed the faithful and thanked them for their wishes, EuroNews reported. “My dears, it seems you know today I have turned 70,” Leo said to cheers. “I thank the Lord, my parents and all those who remembered me in their prayers,” he added, as applause filled St. Peter’s Square, where hundreds of people held “happy birthday” banners in English, Italian, and Spanish, along with balloons and congratulatory signs.
Many children presented drawings expressing their wishes for world peace. One drawing depicted Pope Leo XIV saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” waving a peace flag between a dove holding an olive branch and St. Peter’s Basilica, colored white and yellow like the Vatican flag.
Pope Leo XIV reflected on the steep learning curve he has experienced as pontiff, comparing it to “jumping into the deep end of the pool very quickly,” EuroNews reported. The first American pope said he quickly found his footing as a pastor for the universal Catholic Church but acknowledged that the diplomatic responsibilities of being pope proved more challenging. (ANI)
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