Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
January 17, 2001
Day after end of jubilee, Pope baptizes babies
Less than 24 hours after closing Holy Year 2000, Pope John Paul II was back at his busy regular ministry, baptizing 18 babies during a lengthy liturgy at the Vatican, greeting pilgrims from his apartment window and paying an annual visit to Rome garbage collectors.
The Pope celebrated the baptism Mass in the Sistine Chapel Jan. 7, the day after he formally ended the jubilee and its demanding series of liturgies, meetings and pilgrimages.
The Pope has already scheduled a number of important speeches, audiences and foreign trips for 2001.
During the Mass, which marked the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Pope read a short sermon. As the babies' cries echoed against the frescoed walls of the chapel, the Pope encouraged the parents and godparents to carry out the serious responsibility of educating the children in the faith, so they can take their rightful part in the church.
"Christian baptism ... makes all the faithful co-responsible in the great mission of the church, each in a way that is proper to their own specific vocation," he said.
The revitalization of the lay role in the church was a key goal of the jubilee, a year in which "the vitality of the church was demonstrated before the eyes of all," he said.
"What this extraordinary event passes on to each Christian is the task of confirming the faith in the ordinary context of daily life," he said.
The Pope poured water over the heads of each baby as parents brought them to the altar. Sixteen were Italian, one from Portugal and one from France.
Speaking at the noon blessing the same day, the Pope thanked several thousand jubilee volunteers, whose distinctive bright blue vests spread out through St. Peter's Square. More than 70,000 volunteers worked throughout the jubilee year, guiding and helping pilgrims in various languages.
"As you return home, keep in your hearts these jubilee moments you have shared and bring your `volunteer' attitude into your daily lives, recognizing in every person a brother or sister to love and serve," the Pope said.
Noting that the United Nations had declared 2001 the International Year of the Volunteer, the Pope expressed greetings to all those around the world who, without pay, give of their time and energy in various forms of solidarity with the poor and needy.
"Volunteer work, in all its forms, is above all a question of the heart, a heart that knows how to open itself to the needs of others," he said.
Later in the day, the Pope paid an evening visit to a city sanitation office located just outside the Vatican walls, to admire an annual Nativity scene created by garbage collectors and street sweepers.
Addressing the personnel as "ecology workers," the Pope said he realized the jubilee year had created an immense amount of work for them. The Vatican said more than 8.5 million pilgrims attended papal events during the Holy Year.
The Pope said he appreciated how much effort it took to clean St. Peter's Square before and after these events and said that from his apartment window he'd often watched them sweeping the square in the early hours of the morning. He thanked them for their "attentive diligence." - CNS
