Anniversary of Pope Benedict's Baptism

Early in the morning of Holy Saturday, 16th April 1927, the Ratzingers brought little Joseph, only a few hours old, to their church in their Bavarian village: in those days, today's evening Easter Vigil was anticipated in the morning, and the priest was happy to include in the ceremonies not merely the customary blessing of the font, but a baptism as well. “The more I think about it, the more fitting it seems that I was baptized on Easter Eve, not Easter,” the future Pope was to write; “We live in this world not in the full light of Easter, but journeying toward that light, full of hope.”