(AP) - Pope Benedict has baptized 13 babies during a Sunday Mass in the Sistine Chapel.
The 80-year-old pontiff said it was a special joy for him to baptize the babies, the children of Vatican employees. He asked the families to raise the children with "faith, hope and charity."
In a departure from tradition, Benedict did not celebrate the Mass at a small altar set up to face the congregation. Instead, he celebrated it with his back to the congregation.
Decades ago, priests routinely celebrated Mass at altars with their backs to parishioners, but after the modernizing changes of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, it became common practice for the celebrant to face the congregation.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement