Pope Francis Announces Church's First World Day of Children
'Let the Little Children Come to Me'
On 8 December last, the Feast of Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Francis announced during his Angelus address that the Catholic Church will celebrate our first World Day of Children. This new celebration will be held in Rome on the weekend of 25 – 26 May 2024. The Pope announced the creation of a children’s day, after praying the Angelus prayer with the crowd gathered near the Christmas tree in Saint Peter’s Square to mark the special Marian feast.
Pope Francis said, “And now I have the joy of announcing that on May 25 and 26 next year, we will celebrate the first World Day of Children in Rome. Like Jesus, we want to put children at the centre and care for them.”
The Pope explained that the day, which will be organised by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, will seek to answer the question ‘What kind of world do we wish to pass on to the children who are growing up?’
According to Vatican News, the event was inspired by a 9 year old boy named Alessandro, who proposed the idea to the Pope to have an international event like World Youth Day (an international gathering for young people aged 16 to 35), but focused on younger children. The Vatican is expecting thousands of girls and boys from all over the world to travel to Rome for the event with the Pope.
