On March 13, Pope Francis will celebrate ten years as leader of the Catholic Church following his election to the College of Cardinals.

To celebrate, the pope took part in a podcast broadcast by Vatican News. In it, he mentioned that one of his fondest memories was the meeting in Plaza de San Pedro that he had with the elderly in 2014.

Pope Francis celebrates 10 years as Pope of the Catholic Church with a podcast

“Meetings with the elderly renew and rejuvenate me, I don’t know why … They are beautiful, precious moments,” he said in Vatican news.

“It feels like yesterday,” Francisco confessed.

When asked what he wants as a birthday present, he emphatically says that peace. “We need peace,” he said.

What is a day in the life of Pope Francis, celebrating ten years as Pope of the Catholic Church?

In front of the portal, Jorge Bergoglio mentioned that there were painful moments related to the war, the last one between Ukraine and Russia.

Similarly, he identified three words that correspond to the dreams he has for the church, the world, and governments. “Three words: brotherhood, cry, smile… Human brotherhood, we are all brothers, rebuild brotherhood. Learn not to be afraid to cry and smile: When a person is afraid to cry and smile, they are a person who has their feet on the ground and their eyes on the horizon of the future. If someone forgets to cry, something is wrong. And if you forget to smile, it’s even worse,” the portal said.