Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Pope Francis will not celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism for Babies in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican this year.
By author of Vatican News staff
Pope Francis does not like this year’s traditional baptism of babies in the famous Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Holy See’s Press Office announced on Tuesday.
“Because of the health situation, the traditional baptism of children led by the Holy Father in the Sistine Chapel on the Sunday of the Lord’s baptism in the Sistine Chapel is not celebrated this year,” the Holy See press office said. . in a brief note Tuesday.
Instead, baptism will take place in the congregations to which they belong.
Long-standing tradition
The tradition of baptizing children amidst the splendor of Michelangelo frescoes in the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican, where popes are elected, was started by Pope St. John Paul II.
The Vatican website says that on January 11, 1981, the feast of the baptism of the Lord, the Polish pope administered the baptism to 9 babies in the Paulyn Chapel of the Vatican, which is separated from the Sistine Chapel by the Sala Regia . The following year he baptized 13 newborn babies and in 1983 20 babies.
Last year, Pope Francis baptized 32 babies (17 boys and 15 girls), all children of Vatican employees.
In the church’s liturgical calendar, the feast of the baptism of Jesus is the conclusion of the Christmas season, which begins with the Christmas Eve Mass.
Pandemic’s second wave
Numerous countries around the world, including Europe, are struggling with a second wave of coronavirus infection, with governments trying to control its spread by severely restricting movements and gatherings of people, especially during the current holiday season.
More than 75,000 people have died in Italy, the highest among European countries. With more than 2.1 million total infections since the onset of the pandemic, Italy ranks fourth after Russia, the United Kingdom and France.