"Bambinelli Sunday" Dec 12, 2021

St. John Paul II began a tradition early on in his papacy where he invited the children of Rome to assemble in St. Peter’s Square on the Third Sunday of Advent during his Angelus address. He asked them to bring their little statue of the baby Jesus that would be placed in their Nativity set at home.

John Paul II blessed the figurines of those present and told them to assemble before the manger scene with their family in a spirit of prayer.

As I bless your little statues, beloved children, I think with serene hope of you, of the immense good that you can do, precisely because you are little, within your family, the school, the Associations, and society itself. Not for nothing did Jesus himself choose you as models for those who wish to have a part in his Kingdom (cf. Mt 18:4; Mk 10: 15). Take home, with great care, the little statue of the Infant Jesus, also as a sign of the Pope’s love for you and your families. Put it in your Crib with intense faith, with that faith wherewith the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of God, laid the new-born Jesus in the manger (cf. Lk 2:7). Invite your father, your mother, your brothers and sisters, the whole of your family, to gather round the Crib in these days of the Christmas Novena, to recite together the prayers learned on your mother’s lap, to sing the sweet carols, so charged with human and Christian sentiment. May the Infant Jesus, present in the Crib of your home, be the concrete sign of a limpid and sincere faith, which will enlighten, guide and direct your life and that of your dear ones.

Both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis have continued the tradition, and in recent years it has started to expand to other places outside of Rome. Parishes around the world now join in the celebration, encouraging young children to make the connection between the Nativity set at home and the local church where they worship each weekend.

 Bambinelli is Italian, the plural of bambinello which means "little baby [boy]." It is a beautiful Advent tradition, one that sanctifies the home with the baby Jesus and makes His arrival in the manger scene an even more joyous event. Families also traditionally spend their Advent season making small sacrifices or doing good deeds for the Child Jesus, represented by adding a piece of straw to His manger for each good deed performed. When Christmas Day arrives, the Baby Jesus is placed in the empty creche made comfortable by these acts of charity.

I think this beautiful Advent devotion is best summed up in the words of Pope Benedict, from 2009:
The blessing of the “Bambinelli” [Baby Jesus figurines] as they are called in Rome, reminds us that the crib is a school of life where we can learn the secret of true joy. This does not consist in having many things but in feeling loved by the Lord, in giving oneself as a gift for others and in loving one another. Let us look at the crib. Our Lady and St. Joseph do not seem to be a very fortunate family; their first child was born in the midst of great hardship; yet they are full of deep joy, because they love each other, they help each other and, especially, they are certain that God, who made himself present in the little Jesus, is at work in their story. And the shepherds? What did they have to rejoice about? That Newborn Infant was not to change their condition of poverty and marginalization. But faith helped them recognize the “babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” as a “sign” of the fulfilment of God’s promises for all human beings, “with whom he is pleased” (Lk 2: 12, 14).

This Sunday, December 12, all children and adults are invited to bring their Christ Child figurine from their nativity sets to the 8:30am or 10:30am Masses at Divine Mercy Parish for a special blessing. A wonderful pancake breakfast and Baby Jesus Birthday Party will be held in the Parish Community Center following each of the Masses. I hope that you will participate in this powerful witness to the celebration of the birth of our Savior!

Fr. Robert T. Cooper, Pastor
Divine Mercy Parish and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School