On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV celebrated his 70th birthday in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. He praised the people who had come to recite the Angelus and thanked them for their good wishes.
Leo added, “My dears, it seems you know today I have turned 70,” and the crowd cheered. “I thank the Lord, my parents, and everyone who prayed for me,” the pope said at the close of the prayer. Applause broke out in the Piazza, where hundreds of people waved “happy birthday” banners in English, Italian, and Spanish, balloons, and gestures of congratulations.
The Vatican said that the Pope got messages from all over the world, including drawings from sick kids at the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital in Rome, which the Pope visited in August.
Many of the drawings showed that the kids wanted world peace. One child had sketched Pope Leo XIV waving the peace flag and saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” The picture also showed a dove with an olive branch and St. Peter’s Basilica in white and yellow, like the Vatican flag.
“Big learning curve”
Pope Leo XIV talked about the “huge learning curve” he has taken on as pope in interviews that came out on Sunday on Vatican correspondent Elise Ann Allen’s news site Crux. He compared it to “jumping into the deep end of the pool very quickly.”
The first American pope in history claimed that being a pastor for the universal Catholic Church was easy for him, but being a diplomat as pope was harder.
He said, “The completely new part of this job is being thrown into the role of world leader.” “I’m learning a lot and feeling very challenged, but not too much.”
Faithful people put up a banner in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Sunday, September 14, 2025, to wish Pope Leo XIV a happy 70th birthday. Photo by Gregorio Borgia for AP
The pope got birthday wishes from foreign leaders as well as Catholics from all around the world. Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella was one of the first to wish him well.
“Since the beginning of your high magisterium, you have delivered to the entire international community and to individual consciences a strong call for that ‘unarmed and disarming peace’ that opens hearts” Mattarella wrote in his message to the pontiff.
“You have reminded us, along with St. Augustine, that ‘we are the times.’ “It is up to all of us, and especially those in public office, to work to make things better, open up new avenues for dialogue, justice, and real protection of everyone’s dignity,” the Italian president said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni sent a special message thanking Leo for his preaching, which she said inspired her. She said in a statement that Leo’s lessons “provide reliable and solid guidance in extremely complex times, when certainties seem to waver and changes are as sudden as they are profound.”
The German Bishops’ Conference praised Pope Leo XIV for his ability to bring people together and called him a “bridge-builder.”
“We look back on the first few months of his ministry with admiration and emotion. Bishop Dr. Georg Bätzing wrote on behalf of the whole conference, “You show that the Church is among the people by being visible to many believers and holding many church services, audiences, and meetings during the Holy Year.”
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