St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh will be the setting for a special ‘Bambinelli Sunday’ this month. Adopting a tradition from Italy in which people bring the Baby Jesus figure, their Bambinelli – from their homes to receive a blessing from the Pope on the Third Sunday in Advent, the Armagh diocese is inviting people to bring their figures to the Cathedral for the December 10 Vigil Mass at 7pm during which they will be blessed.
The event will be repeated during the 12pm Mass at St Malachy’s church on December 11.
Blessing
In a release promoting the event, the Archdiocese of Armagh said: “It’s suggested that following the blessing, that people take their Bambinelli home and place it in a gift box, wrap it and save it for Christmas. Let this be the first gift your family opens at Christmas, when together you place your Baby Jesus figure in the crib and have a home blessing of the Nativity for your whole family.”