In the Sistine Chapel this past Sunday, Pope Leo XIV met with the families of Vatican employees to baptize the newborn babies of each family. This is a tradition that was started by Pope St. John Paul II to honor the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
The Pope addressed all those present for the baptisms, explaining the importance of the Sacrament.
POPE LEO XIV
The children you now hold in your arms are transformed into new creatures. Just as from you, parents, they have received life, now they also receive the meaning for living it: faith.
Pope Leo reminded them that when we believe something is essential, we naturally seek to share it with those we love. He then posed a question to all those present.
POPE LEO XIV
Who among us, in fact, would leave newborns without clothing or food, waiting for them to grow up to choose how to dress and what to eat? Dear ones, if food and clothing are necessary to live, faith is more than necessary, because with God life finds salvation.
It was the first time the Pope celebrated this Vatican tradition. Under the attentive gaze of parents, siblings, and godparents, he baptized 20 babies.
Afterward, the children were clothed in white tunics, symbols of the new, divine life gifted to them through baptism. Baptismal candles were also lit to represent the life of faith ignited in each soul.
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