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Reuters

Pope Francis marks 10 years as head of the Roman Catholic Church on Monday celebrating Mass with cardinals in the chapel of the Vatican’s Santa Marta hotel where he has lived since his election.
The Argentina-born Francis, 86, became the first Latin American pontiff on March 13, 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI who had become the first pope in six centuries to resign.
“It seems like yesterday,” he said in a podcast by Vatican News broadcast on Monday. “Time flies. When you gather up today, it is already tomorrow.”
When it was recorded at his residence on Sunday, he asked: “What’s a podcast?” according to Vatican News reporter Salvatore Cernuzio. When it was explained to him, he said “Nice. Let’s do it”.

The former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has sought to project simplicity into the grand role and never took possession of the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace used by his predecessors, saying he preferred to live in a community setting for his “psychological health”.
He has invited all the cardinals who are in Rome with him to the Mass on Monday.
A persistent knee ailment has forced Francis to alternate between a cane and a wheelchair but he appears to be in good overall health.
“You don’t run the Church with a knee but with a head,” he reportedly told an aide after he began occasionally using a wheelchair in public for the first time last May.


Francis has said he would be ready to step down if severe health problems prohibited him from running the 1.38-billion-member Church. But he has also said he thinks popes should try to reign for life and that being emeritus pope – as Benedict was – should not become a “fashion”. Benedict resigned on health grounds but lived nearly 10 more years.
With his 10 years as pontiff, Francis has now reigned longer than the 7.5 years average length of the previous 265 pontificates. He has visited 60 states and territories, clocking up almost 410,000km (255,000 miles).
But he has not returned to his native Argentina, an absence that has prompted much speculation.
He has named about 64 per cent of the so-called cardinal electors who are under 80 and thus eligible to enter a conclave to elect his successor after he dies or resigns.
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Francis marks the anniversary having outlasted conservative opposition within the Church that has several times demanded his resignation and which is now at a crossroads, seeking new direction following the deaths of two of its leading figures.
The longest papacy is believed to be that of St Peter the apostle, the first pope, estimated to have lasted about 35 years.
The longest papacy in recent centuries was that of Pius IX, which lasted more than 31 years between 1846 and 1878. After that comes the papacy of John Paul II, who reigned for more than 26 years between 1978 and 2005.
The shortest is believed to be that of Urban VII, which lasted 13 days in 1590.


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Pope Francis

‘Seems like yesterday’: Pope Francis marks 10th anniversary with Mass and podcast

The Argentina-born Pope Francis, 86, became the first Latin American pontiff on March 13, 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI who had become the first pope in six centuries to resign. Photo: Reuters

Newly elected Pope Francis appears on the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica after being elected by the conclave of cardinals, at the Vatican on March 13, 2013. Photo: Reuters

Pope, Anglican and Presbyterian leaders denounce criminalisation of homosexuality

Pope Francis said that laws criminalising LGBT people are a sin and an injustice. Photo: AFP

Pope Francis in Juba, South Sudan. Photo: Reuters

Pope Francis says ‘hands off Africa!’, condemns plundering of Congo by rich nations

Pope Francis sits next to Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi as he attends the welcoming ceremony at the Palais de la Nation on the first day of his apostolic journey in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

People gathering by the side of the road wave as Pope Francis leaves N’djili International Airport in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Pope Francis is welcomed by residents of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday. Photo: Vatican media via Reuters

Pope Francis says homosexuality is not a crime, but it is a sin

Pope Francis ponders homosexuality and the church. Photo: AP

Pope Francis presides over funeral of predecessor Benedict, tens of thousands attend

Vatican City during the public funeral mass of the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Photo: dpa

Pope Francis sits by the coffin of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI during the funeral mass at the Vatican. Photo: AP

Benedict’s last words revealed as ex-pope lies in state at Vatican, thousands pay their respects

People pay homage to former Pope Benedict in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, after his death at 95. Photo: Reuters

People pay homage to former Pope Benedict in St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Pope Francis embracing Pope Emeritus Benedict in 2017. File photo: AP

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The Argentina-born Francis, 86, became the first Latin American pontiff on March 13, 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI
Francis has said he would be ready to step down if severe health problems prohibited him from running the Church but also thinks popes should try to reign for life


Pope Francis, 86, has said he would be ready to step down if severe health problems prohibited him from running the Church but also thinks popes should try to reign for life.
