ROME, Italy — Pope Francis baptized 13 babies in the Sistine Chapel on Sunday, calling the celebration a “new birthday” into the Christian life.
During his homily at the Mass, the pontiff thanked the parents for bringing their children to be baptized, while urging them to stay especially close to the Virgin Mary.
“Pray also to Our Lady, who is the Mother, who is our Mother,” he declared. “It is said that when someone is angry with the Lord, or has moved away, Our Lady is always close to facilitate his return.”
“The Lord is always close to us, but Our Lady is the mom, and the mom is always closer than the dad. Always,” he asserted. “Why? Because that’s the way it is. Moms are like that, and that is great.”
“The important thing is that today this celebration be a party, the feast of the beginning of a beautiful Christian journey, in which you will help your children to move forward,” he said.
The pope also urged the adults present to remember and celebrate the yearly anniversary of their baptism day.
“Let us not forget when we were baptized,” he said. “It is like a birthday because Baptism makes us born again to Christian life.”
“For this reason, I advise you to teach your children their Baptism day as a new birthday: that every year they may remember and thank God for this grace of having become Christians,” he added.
The pope reiterated the same thought later during his midday Angelus message.
“I ask you: do any of you know the date of your own Baptism? Some of you certainly do not know,” he said. “Ask your parents, your relatives, your godparents: and then, every year, celebrate that date, because it is a new birthday, a birthday of faith.”
“This is today’s task, for each one of you: to find out the date of your Baptism, in order to be able to celebrate it,” he said.
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