The Pope presided over Holy Mass in the Sistine Chapel on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Pope Leo XIV administered the first of the sacraments of Christian initiation to 20 children, sons and daughters of Vatican employees. He reminded the parents that faith is “an essential good” and that they should never deprive their children of an encounter with God.

Below is the homily that the Pope delivered during the Eucharistic celebration:

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Pope’s Homily

Dear brothers and sisters:

When the Lord enters history, he approaches each person’s life with an open and humble heart. He seeks our gaze with his own, full of love, and speaks with us, revealing the Word of salvation. Made man, the Son of God makes possible for everyone a surprising possibility, inaugurating a new and unexpected time, even for the prophets.

John the Baptist immediately recognizes this and asks Jesus, “Do I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ( Mt  3:14). Like light in the darkness, the Lord allows himself to be found where we least expect him: he is the Holy One among sinners who wants to dwell among us without keeping his distance, but rather fully embracing all that is human. “Let it be so,” Jesus replies to John, “for this is how we fulfill all righteousness” (v. 15). What righteousness? God’s righteousness, which in the baptism of Jesus brings about our justification: in his infinite mercy, the Father makes us righteous through his Christ, the only Savior 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 these children of yours: because God loves them, they become Christians, our brothers and sisters.

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

His providential love is manifested on earth through you, mothers and fathers, who ask for faith for your children. Surely, the day will come when they will become too heavy to carry, and the day will also come when they will be the ones supporting you. May baptism, which unites us in the one family of the Church, sanctify all your families at every moment, giving strength and constancy to the affection that binds you together.

The gestures we will perform shortly are beautiful testimonies to this: the water from the font is the washing in the Spirit, which purifies us 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 follow it with joy during the year that has just begun and throughout your lives, with the certainty that the Lord will always accompany your steps.