Pope Francis turns 80, enjoys birthday breakfast with eight homeless individuals
Pope Francis turned 80 last Saturday, and he kicked off his special day by sharing breakfast with eight homeless individuals, followed by celebrating Holy Mass with cardinals.
The pope conversed with each of his guests as they partook of the breakfast spread consisting of pastries, meats, Nutella, and orange juice. The early greeters were picked from the vicinity of St. Peter's Basilica earlier that morning. It was a diverse group of six men and two women, with four originally from Italy, two from Romania, and one each from Moldova and Peru.
Francis shared Argentinian cakes with his guests, who gifted him bouquets of sunflowers. He also gave out birthday cakes for 1,500 people to groups serving the less fortunate in Rome.
Greetings poured in from around the world, with the pope reportedly waking up to more than 50,000 greetings via email.
Among his greeters are world leaders such as U.S. President Barack Obama, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During the mass with the cardinals, the pope shared his thoughts on the aging process, saying, "For some days now, I have had in mind a word that seems ugly: Old age, a thought that frightens." He then reiterated what he said his first papal greeting in 2013: "Old age is the thirst for knowledge," adding, "I hope it will be the same for me."
He also took to Twitter to thank everyone who greeted him on his birthday, with a request to say a prayer for him.
The pope's 80th birthday celebration may be considered as low-key compared his 79th, which he spent with a large group of children and young individuals belonging to the Italian "Azione Cattolica." They offered him a "Happy Birthday" song, as they received them as his annual Christmas audience that day.
