It has been announced that Pope Benedict will reach out to children, especially those who are unwell, at Christmas.
The Pope will visit children in hospital, baptise babies and meet members of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity Order to talk about their work and offer his continuing support. This meeting, which will take place on Boxing Day, will also commemorate Mother Teresa’s centennial year in 2010.
The Pontiff’s Christmas schedule begins tomorrow, when he will bless the Nativity Scene in St Peter’s Square. He will then celebrate Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, starting at 22.00. At noon on Christmas Day the Pope will deliver the “urbi et orbi” [“to the city and the world”] Christmas message in many languages.
On New Year’s Eve the Pope will preside over Vespers in St Peter’s Basilica and at 10.00 on 1st January he will celebrate a Mass for the Vatican’s 44th World Day of Peace.
On 5th January the Pope will visit children in the Policlinico Gemelli in Rome and will bless a clinic for children suffering from spina bifida. On 6th January he will celebrate an Epiphany Mass and on 9th January he will baptise newborn babies in the Sistine Chapel.
