Two years to the day after he was elected to lead the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics, Pope Francis said today that he expects to have only a short papacy.

An ABC News report quoted him as telling Mexican broadcaster Televisa: “I have the feeling that my Pontificate will be brief, 4 or 5 years; I do not know, even 2 or 3.

“I feel that the Lord has placed me here for a short time, and nothing more.”

The report said the 78-year-old pontiff compared the feeling to “a gambler who convinces himself he will lose so he won’t be disappointed. And if he wins, he’s happy.”

When asked if he liked being pope, Francis reportedly told the interviewer that he doesn’t mind, but that he also wouldn’t mind some degree of anonymity. “The only thing I would like is to go out one day, without being recognized, and go to a pizzeria for a pizza,” he was quoted to have said.

Francis, who assumed the office following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, marked the second anniversary as pope by hearing confessions at the Vatican.

•Photo shows Pope Francis.