Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Pope Francis will not celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism for babies in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel this year.
By the editor of Vatican News
Pope Francis will not perform this year’s traditional children’s baptism in the Vatican’s famous Sistine Chapel on Sunday, January 10, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Holy See’s Press Office announced on Tuesday.
“Due to the health situation, as a precautionary measure, the traditional baptism of children presided over by the Holy Father in the Sistine Chapel on the Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord will not be celebrated this year,” said the Holy See Press Room in a brief note. on Tuesday.
Instead, baptisms will take place in the parishes to which they belong.
Long-standing tradition
The tradition of baptizing children amidst the splendor of Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, where popes are elected, was initiated 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 children in the Vatican’s Pauline Chapel, 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 children (17 boys and 15 girls), all children of Vatican officials.
In the liturgical calendar of the Church, the feast of the Baptism of Jesus marks the conclusion of Christmas time, which begins with the Mass of the day before.
Second wave of the pandemic
Numerous countries around the world, including Europe, are struggling with a second wave of coronavirus infection, with governments trying to curb its spread by severely restricting movement and concentration of people, especially during the current holiday season.
More than 75,000 people died in Italy, the highest number among European countries. With more than 2.1 million total infections since the start of the pandemic, Italy ranks 4th, after Russia, the United Kingdom and France.