How do popes celebrate their birthdays? Pizza, parties and puppies

['Edward Desciak', 'More Edward Desciak', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar'] America Magazine 2025-09-12 00:00:00

In fact, Pope Francis received an even larger pizza for his 81st birthday celebration, which measured in at a whopping 13 feet. Besides eating pizza, Francis would typically spend his birthdays with those he sought to serve: the poor and vulnerable. For Pope Benedict XVI’s 80th birthday, Vatican employees got the day off along with a bonus on their paychecks. If one looks at the historical record, celebrating popes’ birthdays seems to be a mostly modern phenomenon. Whether it’s pizza, puppies or partying, hopefully Leo gets some time to enjoy his day.