The Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Kerry Robinson of Catholic Charities USA, Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville and Franciscan Father Michael Perry are just some of those sending their love, appreciation and best wishes to Pope Francis on the 12th anniversary of his pontificate from an ecclesial gathering taking place in New York.

The anniversary, on 13 March 2025,  comes at a time when the Holy Father is recovering from bilateral pneumonia at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.

Messages have been flooding in from men, women and children across the globe, believers and non-believers, thanking him for the inspiration and guidance he has offered during the past 12 years of his pontificate and wishing him a speedy recovery and good health.

Amongst the well-wishers are the organizers and participants in "The Way Forward 2025, An Ecclesial Gathering," at Fordham University, a Jesuit research university in New York City. The annual gathering focuses this year on the theme Fratelli tutti: Cultivating the Politics of Communion and Compassion.

The two-day forum, organised in collaboration with Boston College's Boisi Center and Fordham University's Center on Religion and Culture, Sacred Heart University, and Loyola's Hank Center provides a space for bishops, academics, journalists and Catholic leaders to gather to discuss important issues affecting the Church today, with the synodal perspective called for by Pope Francis.