Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Pope Francis will not celebrate the Sacrament of Infant Baptism in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel this year.
By Vatican News staff writer
Pope Francis will not hold the traditional baptism of children this year in the famous Vatican Sistine Chapel on Sunday, January 10, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Holy See 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 Lord’s Baptism will not be celebrated this year,” the Holy See Press Office said. in a brief note on Tuesday.
Instead, the baptisms will take place in the parishes to which they belong.
Long-standing tradition
The tradition of baptizing children in the splendor of Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, where the popes are elected, was started by Pope St. John Paul II.
The Vatican’s website says that on January 11, 1981, on the feast of the Lord’s Baptism, the Polish Pope administered Baptism to 9 children in the Vatican’s Pauline Chapel, which is separated from the Sistine Chapel by the Royal Hall. The following year, she baptized 13 newborn babies and, in 1983, 20 babies.
Last year, Pope Francis baptized 32 infants (17 boys and 15 girls), all children of Vatican employees.
In the liturgical calendar of the Church, the feast of the Baptism of Jesus marks the end of the Christmas season, which begins with the Liturgy on Christmas Eve.
The second wave of the Pandemic
Many countries around the world, including Europe, are facing a second wave of coronavirus infection, with governments trying to check its spread by severely restricting movement and gathering people, especially during the current holiday season.
More than 75,000 people have died in Italy, the largest European country. With over 2.1 million total infections since the beginning of the pandemic, Italy ranks 4th after Russia, the United Kingdom and France.