VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Saturday led an Easter vigil service, baptising 8 adults, including a formerly undocumented Nigerian migrant beggar who turned into a hero when he disarmed an Italian thief wielding a cleaver.
The baptism happened all over an extended Holy Saturday, or Easter eve, Mass for some 10,000 other people in St. Peter’s Basilica.
The church, the most important in Christendom, was darkish at the start of the service prior to lights had been became on, signifying the passage from darkness to light when the Bible says Jesus rose from the lifeless.
The pope historically welcomes new individuals of the Church all over the Saturday night service.
This yr, amongst those he baptised was John Ogah, 31, who Italian newspapers final yr dubbed the “migrant hero” and held up as an example of bravery and good citizenship.
Ogah was begging for trade out of doors a grocery store in a Rome neighbourhood the place many migrants reside final September when he stopped a 37-year-old Italian who had simply held up the shop with a cleaver and was getting away with about 400 euros, according to the Catholic tv station TV2000.
The Nigerian, who did not have permission to stay in Italy, held the man down until police arrived and then left the scene, fearing it could be found out he did not have paperwork, according to La Repubblica newspaper.
Police the use of footage from surveillance cameras tracked him down and rewarded him via helping him get legal permission to stay within the country.
An Italian Carabinieri police captain who worked within the neighbourhood, Nunzio Carbone, was his godfather, or sponsor, at Saturday’s baptism service.
Carbone and his fellow policemen helped Ogah get his immigration papers. The Nigerian now works as a stockman at a warehouse for a charity organisation.
The other newly baptised on the service got here from Albania, Peru, Italy and the United States.
Francis has made defence of migrants a key a part of his papacy.
On Sunday, the pope ends Holy See services via celebrating an Easter Mass and then delivers his twice-yearly “Urbi et Orbi” (“to town and the arena”) blessing and message from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The baptism happened all over an extended Holy Saturday, or Easter eve, Mass for some 10,000 other people in St. Peter’s Basilica.
The church, the most important in Christendom, was darkish at the start of the service prior to lights had been became on, signifying the passage from darkness to light when the Bible says Jesus rose from the lifeless.
The pope historically welcomes new individuals of the Church all over the Saturday night service.
This yr, amongst those he baptised was John Ogah, 31, who Italian newspapers final yr dubbed the “migrant hero” and held up as an example of bravery and good citizenship.
Ogah was begging for trade out of doors a grocery store in a Rome neighbourhood the place many migrants reside final September when he stopped a 37-year-old Italian who had simply held up the shop with a cleaver and was getting away with about 400 euros, according to the Catholic tv station TV2000.
The Nigerian, who did not have permission to stay in Italy, held the man down until police arrived and then left the scene, fearing it could be found out he did not have paperwork, according to La Repubblica newspaper.
Police the use of footage from surveillance cameras tracked him down and rewarded him via helping him get legal permission to stay within the country.
An Italian Carabinieri police captain who worked within the neighbourhood, Nunzio Carbone, was his godfather, or sponsor, at Saturday’s baptism service.
Carbone and his fellow policemen helped Ogah get his immigration papers. The Nigerian now works as a stockman at a warehouse for a charity organisation.
The other newly baptised on the service got here from Albania, Peru, Italy and the United States.
Francis has made defence of migrants a key a part of his papacy.
On Sunday, the pope ends Holy See services via celebrating an Easter Mass and then delivers his twice-yearly “Urbi et Orbi” (“to town and the arena”) blessing and message from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Pope baptises Italy 'migrant hero' at Easter Eve service
![Pope baptises Italy 'migrant hero' at Easter Eve service]()
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April 01, 2018
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