Vatican City, Apr 22, 2012 / 09:25 am
During his April 22 Regina Coeli address, Pope Benedict XVI said adults should bring reverence and love to the task of preparing children to receive their first Holy Communion.
“Dear friends, the Church at Easter time usually administers First Communion to children,” he noted in the midday address. “I therefore urge the pastors, parents and catechists to prepare this feast of faith well, with great fervor, but also with sobriety.”
Among the large crowd gathered in the sunshine of St. Peter's Square were thousands of Italian children who will make their first Holy Communion in the coming weeks. As Pope Benedict addressed them, the young pilgrims cheered and released hundreds of colored balloons into the Roman sky.
The Pope told them their First Communion would mark “the moment when you too understand the importance of a personal encounter with Jesus.”