Overview

• He turns 70 on September 14, with no public festivities announced, and will lead an afternoon memorial for early‑21st‑century ecumenical martyrs.
• Four months after his May 8 election, the Vatican remains subdued with no first major teaching document or programmatic speech issued.
• Travel plans are still unconfirmed, with Vatican reporting pointing to a possible visit to Turkey later this year and an eventual trip to Peru.
• The first U.S.-born pontiff, who also holds Peruvian citizenship, has presented himself as continuing Pope Francis’s reform process.
• Public reaction includes praise for symbolic choices such as reactivating Castel Gandolfo and the papal helicopter, voiced by German entertainer Harald Schmidt.