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Pope Leo XIV baptized 20 babies in the Sistine Chapel on Sunday, continuing the Vatican’s annual Christmas tradition.
At his first baptismal ceremony as pope, Leo celebrated “the gift of faith given by the Lord to children,” commenting that this “gives meaning to the gift of life” beneath Michelangelo’s frescoed ceiling.
“When we know something is necessary,” the pope said, “we seek it immediately for those we love. In fact, who among us would leave a newborn child without clothes or food, waiting for them to grow up and choose how to dress and what to eat?”
“Dear people, if food and clothing are necessary for life, then faith is even more necessary, for Godlife found redemption,” he said.
The pope personally baptized infants who were the children of Vatican employees working in the Holy See. The parents, along with the baby’s godparents and all siblings, approach the baptismal font placed within a bronze pedestal representing the Tree of Life. There were no tears or fuss during the ceremony.
The celebration, which marks the holiday commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, was instituted in 1981 by St. John Paul II. The incident is depicted in sistine chapelThe north wall from the frescoes by Pietro Perugino.
During the ceremony, each father was given a candle representing his father. Christianity Light “illuminates our path.”
“I wish you continued joy in the year you have just begun, and assurance throughout your life host Always with you. “