Pope Francis celebrated his 80th birthday in a quiet fashion dining with eight hmeless people from near St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican said. File Photo by Claudio Peri/epa

ROME, Vatican City, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Pope Francis celebrated a low-key 80th birthday at the Vatican on Saturday by sharing breakfast with eight homeless people.

The Vatican said the individuals were invited by officials earlier in the morning and joined Francis for a morning meal of sweets from his native Argentina, pastries, meats Nutella and orange juice.


Francis received more than 70,000 happy birthday messages via email as of Saturday morning, according to the Catholic News Agency. He took to Twitter to thank his 10 million followers and ask for their prayers. The most emails were written in English, Spanish, Polish and Italian, the Vatican said.

Among the well-wishers was Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who the Vatican press office said sent Francis three presents personal to the two men, along with an affectionate note. Francis then called Benedict to express his gratitude, the Vatican said.