Pope Leo XIV has frequently greeted and welcomed babies at the Vatican since his election on May 8. The article highlights several instances of the Pope interacting with infants during various audiences and events. Specific dates mentioned for these interactions include June 18, June 7, August 6, August 13, August 27, September 6, and September 3, 2025. The Pope was photographed holding, blessing, and embracing young attendees during general audiences and prayer vigils.
2 months ago
Pope Leo XIV has warmly engaged with numerous babies during Vatican events since his election on May 8, 2025.1 2
These interactions, captured in photos, highlight tender moments like blessings, embraces, and greetings on Christmas Day 2025.1 2
Interactions began early in his pontificate, including a Pentecost prayer vigil on June 7 and a general audience on June 18.1 2
August featured blessings during general audiences on August 6, 13 (adjusted for heat in Paul VI Hall and St. Peter’s Basilica), and family meetings on August 27.1 2
September saw frequent engagements: embracing a crying baby on September 6, blessings on September 3, multiple on September 24, and a jubilee audience on September 27.1 2
October included greetings on October 8 and 22, an embrace during Mass on October 12, and blessings on All Saints' Day.1 2
The Pope often blesses babies, holds them, and comforts crying ones amid crowds in St. Peter’s Square or Basilica.1 2
He also greets families and young children, extending moments beyond formal audiences.1 2
Published on December 25, 2025, the photo collections tie these encounters to Jesus' birth as a baby.1 2
They portray Pope Leo XIV embracing the "tiniest members of the flock" during his first Christmas pontificate.1 2
Examine the Catholic tradition of welcoming infants into the Church
The Catholic tradition of welcoming infants into the Church through Baptism dates back to the earliest days of Christianity, reflecting an immemorial practice that integrates children into the Body of Christ from the outset of life. This custom, witnessed in the baptism of entire "households" in the New Testament (e.g., Acts 16:15, 33; 1 Cor 1:16), underscores that infants were likely included alongside adults from apostolic times. Far from being a later innovation, it was affirmed by second-century figures like St. Irenaeus, who naturally included "infants and small children" among the baptized, and codified in early rituals such as the Apostolic Tradition, which instructed: "First baptize the children. Those of them who can speak for themselves should do so. The parents or someone of their family should speak for the others."
Church Fathers vigorously defended and practiced infant Baptism amid occasional delays in the fourth century due to fears of post-baptismal sin. Origen described it as a "tradition received from the Apostles," while St. Augustine insisted the Church "always had, always held" this practice from ancestral faith. St. Cyprian, at a Synod of African Bishops in 253, declared it lawful to baptize infants "by the second or third day after their birth," emphasizing God's mercy extends to all born, regardless of age.
Councils reinforced this tradition against heresies like Pelagianism, which denied original sin. The Council of Carthage (418) condemned denying Baptism to newborns, teaching they are baptized "for the forgiveness of sins" to cleanse what they inherited by birth. Later, the Council of Florence (1442) urged Baptism "as soon as is convenient," rescuing infants from the devil and adopting them as God's children, while Trent anathematized Anabaptist delays, affirming Baptism's necessity post-Gospel promulgation per John 3:5. The Council of Vienna (1312) highlighted its conferral of grace and virtues even on infants.
Infant Baptism addresses humanity's fallen nature tainted by original sin, granting the "new birth" that frees children from darkness and incorporates them into God's freedom. "Every person not yet baptized and only such a person is able to be baptized," making it essential for salvation, as Jesus wills entry into the Church via this sacrament. Its gratuitousness shines in infants, who receive priceless grace without merit: "the Church and the parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism shortly after birth."
This practice manifests ecclesial faith, not personal act, with parents and godparents representing the Church's belief. Post-baptismal catechumenate nurtures this grace through instruction and growth. For children dying without Baptism, the Church entrusts them to God's mercy, citing Jesus' tenderness ("Let the children come to me") and urging no hindrance to their Baptism.
The rite—preferably triple immersion, or pouring—signifies death to sin and Trinitarian life via Christ's Paschal mystery. Godparents, as "firm believers," aid the child's Christian path, fulfilling an "ecclesial function" alongside parental nurture. Canon Law obliges Baptism "within the first weeks after birth," with a well-founded hope of Catholic upbringing.
Pope John Paul II, approving the 1980 Instruction on Infant Baptism, reaffirmed its necessity and warned against overly restrictive guidelines denying it, emphasizing grace's unmerited gift: "Nowhere is the gratuitous and unmerited nature of grace more evident than in infant Baptism." Recent theological commissions echo this, noting infant Baptism's dialogical character fulfilled by ecclesial representatives, preventing estrangement through catechesis.
This tradition calls parents to prompt Baptism, fostering faith education parallel to natural upbringing. Diocesan preparations welcome rather than deter, as pastoral charity embraces the lapsed. By baptizing infants, the Church initiates communal "we" faith, proud to profess: "This is our faith. This is the faith of the Church."
In summary, the Catholic tradition of infant Baptism is apostolic, patristic, conciliar, and magisterially unbroken—a gift of salvation freeing from original sin, incorporating into Christ and Church, sustained by parental and ecclesial faith. It invites unwavering commitment to this sacramental welcome, ensuring no child is denied rebirth in the Spirit.