From hospital, Francis marks 12th anniversary as pope

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis will on Thursday mark the 12th anniversary of his election as leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, but he will do so from Rome’s Gemelli hospital where he has been treated for double pneumonia for almost a month.

The latest bulletins from the Vatican on the 88-year-old pope’s condition have said he is improving and is no longer in immediate danger. They have not said when he will be discharged from hospital.

Francis was elected pope by the world’s Roman Catholic cardinals on March 13, 2013. His continued stay in hospital - he was admitted on February 14 - is changing the tenor of how Catholics are celebrating the day.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, a senior Vatican official known as close to Francis, called the pope’s anniversary “a reason for gratitude”.

He said: “This year, his illness makes us especially aware (of the anniversary), especially grateful to God, and redoubling our prayers for his full recovery.”

Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, is the first pope from the Americas.

Elected pontiff at age 76, he moved quickly to make an impact. Over 12 years, he has reorganized the Vatican’s bureaucracy, written four major teaching documents, made 47 foreign trips to more than 65 countries, and created more than 900 saints.

Overall, Francis is widely seen as trying to open the staid global Church to the modern world.