Pope Francis is today marking the 12th anniversary of his papal election from a hospital bed at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he has been since mid-February. The pontiff’s recovery from double pneumonia – complicated by chronic respiratory disease and the partial removal of one lung decades ago – is proceeding slowly and has seen a couple of setbacks already.
The fact remains, though, that many didn’t expect him to be here at all. The election of a 76-year-old cardinal from Buenos Aires – Jorge Mario Bergoglio, as he was then known to the world – was a big surprise, and only five other popes have reached the age of 88.
