At 9.30 this morning, Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Holy Father Leo XIV presided over Holy Mass in the Sistine Chapel, during which he administered the Sacrament of Baptism to several babies.

The following is the homily delivered by the Pope during the Eucharistic celebration:

Homily of the Holy Father

Dear brothers and sisters,

When the Lord enters history, he comes towards the life of each person with an open and humble heart. He seeks our gaze with his, filled with love, and dialogues with us, revealing the Word of salvation. Made man, the Son of God realizes for everyone a surprising possibility, which inaugurates a new time, unexpected even by the prophets.

Saint John the Baptist realized immediately, asking Jesus: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Mt 3:14). Like light in the darkness, the Lord lets himself be found where we do not expect him: he is the Saint among the sinners, who wants to live in our midst without keeping his distance; on the contrary, taking on all that is human to the very end. “Let it be so now”, Jesus replies to John, “for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (v. 15). What righteousness? That of God, who in the baptism of Jesus brings about our justification: in his infinite mercy, the Father makes us righteous through his Christ, the only Saviour of all. How does this happen? The one who is baptized by John in the Jordan makes this gesture a new sign of death and resurrection, of forgiveness and communion. This is the sacrament we celebrate today for your children: because God loves them, they become Christians, our brothers and sisters.

The children you now hold in your arms are transformed into new creatures. Just as they received life from you, their parents, so now they receive the meaning to live it: faith. When we know that something is essential, we immediately seek it for those we love. Who among us, in fact, would leave newborns without clothes or food, waiting for them to choose how to dress and what to eat when they grow up? Dear friends, if food and clothing are necessary for life, faith is even more necessary, because with God, life finds salvation.

His provident love is made manifest on earth through you, mothers and fathers who ask for faith for your children. Certainly, the day will come when they become too heavy to carry; and the day will also come when they will support you. May Baptism, which unites us in the one family of the Church, sanctify all your families at all times, giving strength and constancy to the affection that unites you.

The gestures we are about to perform are beautiful testimonies of this: the water of the font is the washing in the Spirit, which purifies from all sin; the white garment is the new robe that God the Father gives us for the eternal feast of his Kingdom; the candle lit from the Paschal candle is the light of the risen Christ, which illuminates our path. I wish you to continue it with joy throughout the year that has just begun and throughout your lives, confident that the Lord will always accompany your steps.