Pope Francis will celebrate his 12th anniversary as leader of the Catholic church on Thursday, March 13, 2025, from his sick bed at Rome's Gemelli Hospital.

It has been nearly twelve years to the day that Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis and since then has worked to help migrants, the homeless and opened the church to the LGBTQ+ Catholics. He has been a vocal advocate for peace in the world and made the defense of the environment a pillar of his papacy.

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.