On Monday, March 13, Pope Francis turns 10 years old in the Roman Catholic Church, which has 1.38 billion members worldwide. Former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina became the 266th Pope and the first from Latin America.

His journey so far in numbers

Sunday and Holiday Lunch Services: about 570.

Wednesday Hearings: almost 440.

Meetings with heads of state or government: almost 330.

Sessions: He presided over five international assemblies of bishops.

Appointments of cardinals: Francis named 111 cardinals, “princes of the church,” who are his closest assistants in the Vatican and head dioceses around the world. There are currently 123 cardinals under the age of 80 and therefore, in accordance with ecclesiastical law, may participate in a conclave to elect a pope upon the death or retirement of Francis. They are known as cardinal electors and Francis appointed 81 of them. The rest of the electors were nominated by his predecessors.

Travel abroad: Francis has visited 60 states and sovereign territories, covering almost 410,000 km.

Visited: Brazil, Jordan, Palestinian Territories, Israel, South Korea, Albania, France, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Cuba, USA, Kenya, Uganda, Central African Republic, Mexico. , Greece, Armenia, Poland, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Sweden, Egypt, Portugal, Colombia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Chile, Peru, Switzerland, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Panama, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Romania, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Thailand, Japan, Iraq, Hungary, Slovakia, Cyprus, Malta, Canada, Kazakhstan, Bahrain, Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.

He made 35 trips to Italy, starting with the island of Lampedusa, the drop-off point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean on their way to Europe, in July 2013. He traveled from the Vatican almost 150 times for visits and events in Rome.

The Saints: Francis appointed about 900 new saints, including the predecessors of John XIII, John Paul II and Paul IV, as well as Mother Teresa of Calcutta and El Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was assassinated in 1980. Also included in the number of canonized are the martyrs of Otranto, residents of a city in southern Italy, who were killed by Ottoman troops in 1480. The Vatican reports that there were about 800 of them. He canonized 1355 people, which is the last step before canonization.

Circulars: The encyclical is the most important form of papal document. Francis wrote three, starting in 2013 with “Lumen Fidei” (“Light of the Faith”) on the importance of the Christian faith, written in part by his predecessor, Pope Benedict. In 2015, “Laudato Si” (“Praise be to you”) was released, which calls for urgent action on climate change, and in 2020 “Fratelli Tutti” (“All brothers”) is dedicated to the issue of solidarity between people in the post-pandemic the world.

He also signed 11 other important documents such as the Apostolic Constitutions and the Apostolic Exhortations.

Source: Reuters.