I did not expect to be “the Pope of the Third World War” declares Francis on a podcast (the Vatican calls it the popecast) to mark 10 years since his accession to the papal throne.

As the head of the Roman Catholic Church characteristically stated, he, a bishop who “came from the other side of the earth” did not expect to become the Pope who would lead the Ecumenical Church of the World War III era: “Not expecting. I thought Syria would be a unique case, then the others came.”

“It makes me suffer to see young men die – whether they are Russian or Ukrainian, I don’t care – not to return to their homes. It’s hard”. The pontiff has no doubts about what to ask for as a gift for this important anniversary: “Peace, we need peace.”

“Behind the wars, there is the arms industry, this is diabolical,” emphasizes Pope Francis according to vatican news.

“Time flies… it flies. You want to seize today, and it’s already yesterday. Living like this is something new. These ten years have been something like this: living with tension” reports on his tenure.

He identifies “the most beautiful moment” as meeting in St. Peter’s Square with elderly people, grandparents from all over the world, on September 28, 2014. “Old people are wise and help me so much… I’m old too, aren’t I?”