VATICAN CITY (RockedBuzz via Reuters) – Here are some statistics on Pope Francis, who on Monday marks the 10th anniversary of his election as head of the 1.38 billion-member Roman Catholic Church. Former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina became the 266th pope and the first from Latin America.
NOON BLESSINGS ON SUNDAY OR HOLY DAYS – about 570
WEDNESDAY GENERAL AUDIENCES – around 440
MEETINGS WITH HEADS OF STATE OR OF GOVERNMENT – around 330
SYNODS – He presided over five of these meetings of world bishops
CARDINALS
Francis has appointed 111 cardinals, the red-hatted “princes of the Church” who are his closest collaborators in the Vatican and who lead dioceses around the world.
Currently, 123 cardinals are under the age of 80 and therefore may, under ecclesiastical law, enter a conclave to elect a pope following Francis’ death or retirement. They are known as cardinal electors and Francis nominated 81 of them. The other electors were nominated by his predecessors.
FOREIGN TRIPS
Francis visited 60 states and territories, traveling nearly 410,000 km (255,000 miles).
Visited Brazil, Jordan, Palestinian Territories, Israel, South Korea, Albania, France, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Cuba, United States, Kenya, Uganda, Central African Republic, Mexico, Greece, Armenia, Poland, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Sweden, Egypt, Portugal, Colombia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Chile, Peru, Switzerland, Ireland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Panama, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Romania, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Thailand, Japan, Iraq, Hungary, Slovakia, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Canada, Kazakhstan, Bahrain, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
He made 35 trips to Italy, starting from the island of Lampedusa, the disembarkation point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe, in July 2013.
He has left the Vatican nearly 150 times for visits and events within Rome, his diocese.
SAINTS
Francis created some 900 new saints, including his predecessors John XXIII, John Paul II and Paul IV, as well as Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Salvadoran archbishop Oscar Romero, who was killed in 1980.
The figure includes the Otranto Martyrs, residents of a southern Italian city killed by Ottoman troops in 1480. The Vatican says there were around 800.
He beatified 1,355 people. Beatification is the last step before sainthood.
ENCYCLICICS
The encyclical is the most important form of papal document.
Francis has written three, starting in 2013 with “Lumen Fidei” (Light of Faith) on the importance of the Christian faith, written in part by his predecessor Pope Benedict.
In 2015, he released “Laudato Si” (Praise Himself), which called for urgent action on climate change, while 2020’s Fratelli Tutti (Brothers All) addressed the issue of solidarity between people in the post-pandemic world.
He also wrote 11 other important documents, such as the Apostolic Constitutions and the Apostolic Exhortations.
(Reporting by Alvise Armellini and Philip Pullella; Editing by Frances Kerry)
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