Pope seeks to bring faith to "ends of the Earth"

 

• 
  Photo By Alessandra Tarantino/AP
  Pope Francis holding a tall, lit, white candle, enters a darkened St. Peter's Basilica to begin the Easter vigil service, at the Vatican, Saturday, April 19, 2014.                                
• 
  Photo By Alessandra Tarantino/AP
  Pope Francis holds a tall, lit, white candle, as he leads the Easter vigil service, at the Vatican, Saturday, April 19, 2014.
• 
  Photo By Alessandra Tarantino/AP
  Pope Francis holding a tall, lit, white candle, enters St. Peter's Basilica to begin the Easter vigil service, at the Vatican, Saturday, April 19, 2014.
• 
  Photo By Alessandra Tarantino/AP
  Pope Francis presides over an Easter vigil service in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican Saturday, April 19, 2014. Pope Francis baptized 10 people Saturday as he presided over an Easter Vigil in St. Peter's Basilica, fulfilling a ritual deep in meaning on the most solemn night of the Catholic calendar. Francis urged the priests, bishops, cardinals and ordinary Catholics gathered for the late night service to remember when they first found their faith. "Do I remember it? Have I forgotten it? Look for it. You'll find it. The Lord is waiting."
• 
  Photo By Alessandra Tarantino/AP
  Pope Francis baptizes 10-year-hold Giorgio Capezzuoli during the Easter vigil service in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican Saturday, April 19, 2014. Pope Francis baptized 10 people Saturday as he presided over an Easter Vigil in St. Peter's Basilica, fulfilling a ritual deep in meaning on the most solemn night of the Catholic calendar. Francis urged the priests, bishops, cardinals and ordinary Catholics gathered for the late night service to remember when they first found their faith. "Do I remember it? Have I forgotten it? Look for it. You'll find it. The Lord is waiting."
• 
  Photo By Alessandra Tarantino/AP
  Pope Francis kisses the Holy Gospel as he celebrates the Easter vigil service in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican Saturday, April 19, 2014. Pope Francis has presided over a solemn Easter Vigil in St. Peter's Basilica in which he is to baptize 10 people. The vigil is among the most solemn and dramatic on the church calendar, with Francis entering the darkened basilica with a lone candle which he then shares with others to slowly illuminate the church. The heavily symbolic service commemorates the darkness over the crucifixion of Christ on Good Friday and the joy and light at his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis baptized 10 people Saturday and urged them to bring their faith "to the ends of the Earth" as he presided over an Easter Vigil in St. Peter's Basilica.

The vigil is among the Vatican's most solemn services. Francis entered the darkened basilica with a lone candle, which he then shared with others to slowly illuminate the church. The symbolic service commemorates the darkness of the faithful over the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday and their joy and light at his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Francis urged the priests, bishops, cardinals and ordinary Catholics gathered for the late night service to remember when they first found their faith. "Do I remember it? Have I forgotten it? Look for it. You'll find it. The Lord is waiting."

Trying to remember isn't an act of nostalgia but rather a way to bring the "fire" of faith "to all people, to the very ends of the Earth," he said.

After his homily, Francis proceeded to baptize each of the 10, starting with Italian brothers Giorgio and Jacopo Capezzuoli, aged 8 and 10. "Do you want to be baptized?" he asked each one as he smiled.

He asked the same of the adult converts, who hailed from Vietnam, Belarus, Senegal, Lebanon, Italy and France.

It was the second late night for Francis after the long Good Friday Way of the Cross procession at Rome's Colosseum. Francis, 77, will get a few hours of rest before celebrating Easter Sunday Mass in the flower-strewn St. Peter's Square.

He then has a week to prepare for the other major celebration of this year's Easter season: the April 27 canonizations of Pope John XXIII and John Paul II. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/world/article/Pope-seeks-to-bring-faith-to-ends-of-the-Earth-5415256.php