Feed your hungry babies, Pope tells mothers in Sistine Chapel | CNN

Feed your hungry babies, Pope tells mothers in Sistine Chapel

Marie-Louise Gumuchian, CNN
1 minute read
Updated 12:14 PM EST, Sun January 12, 2014
Pope Francis baptizes a child inside the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on Sunday, January 12. The Pope baptized 32 infants during the ceremony.
Pope Francis baptizes 32 children —
Pope Francis baptizes a child inside the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on Sunday, January 12. The Pope baptized 32 infants during the ceremony.
L'Osservatore Romano/AP
The Pope blesses a baby during the baptism ceremony.
Pope Francis baptizes 32 children —
The Pope blesses a baby during the baptism ceremony.
L'Osservatore Romano/AP
Pope Francis leads the ceremony before the baptisms.
Pope Francis baptizes 32 children —
Pope Francis leads the ceremony before the baptisms.
L'Osservatore Romano/AP
The Pope baptizes one of the 32 children.
Pope Francis baptizes 32 children —
The Pope baptizes one of the 32 children.
L'Osservatore Romano/AP
A candle is lit during the baptismal ceremony.
Pope Francis baptizes 32 children —
A candle is lit during the baptismal ceremony.
L'Osservatore Romano/AP
A child is baptized during the ceremony.
Pope Francis baptizes 32 children —
A child is baptized during the ceremony.
L'Osservatore Romano/AP
Pope Francis leaves the Sistine Chapel after the ceremony.
Pope Francis baptizes 32 children —
Pope Francis leaves the Sistine Chapel after the ceremony.
L'Osservatore Romano/AP
Pope Francis baptizes 32 children

Story highlights

Pope Francis baptizes 32 babies in Sistine chapel on Sunday

Pope tells mothers to feed crying babies during the ceremony if they want

19 new cardinals from around the world named Sunday

Pope, elected last March, is known for embracing humble way of life

CNN  — 

It boasts some of the world’s most celebrated works of art: Michelangelo’s frescoes depicting the creation of man and a severe God at the Last Judgment.

But on Sunday, Pope Francis told mothers not to feel intimidated by the splendid surroundings of the Sistine Chapel as he baptized 32 sometimes wailing babies.

At the yearly event, Francis, who has become known for the more simple style he has introduced in the Vatican, offered a brief homily centered on the infants.

“Today the choir sings but the most beautiful choir is of children,” he said.

“Some are crying, because they are uncomfortable, or because they are hungry. If they are hungry, mothers, give them something to eat. … They are the central figures, the protagonists.”

Also on Sunday, Pope Francis named 19 new cardinals from Africa, Latin America, Asia and elsewhere during his weekly address to worshipers gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

The pontiff also said three archbishops emeriti, over the age of 80, will join the College of Cardinals.

Editors’ Note: This article has been edited to remove plagiarized content after CNN discovered multiple instances of plagiarism by Marie-Louise Gumuchian, a former CNN news editor.

CNN’s Lindsay Isaac and Hadia Messia contributed to this report.