Rachel Kiser
Blogger | Mom of Two

There’s something powerful about your rights being defended by someone who is outside of your present situation. It’s even more beautiful when that person has around one billion followers, and happens to be the Pope.

At an annual ceremony in the Sistine Chapel celebrating the baptism of Jesus, Pope Francis baptized 28 babies, announcing their names individually as he did so. The Associated Press reported that, as several of the babies began to cry all at the same time, Pope Francis joked that, “the concert has begun,” also commenting that perhaps Jesus’ first homily was his crying as an infant.

“The ceremony is a little long, someone is crying because he is hungry. That’s the way it is,” he also admitted. “You mothers, go ahead and breastfeed, without fear. Just like the Virgin Mary nursed Jesus.”

C’mon. How do you not love the man already?

This isn’t the first time Pope Francis has made clear his stance on breastfeeding during mass, or in his presence. In the same baptismal ceremony two years ago, he made similar statements about mothers feeding their crying, hungry babies. And, in 2013, in an interview with an Italian journalist for La Stampa, he commented on a young mother he had encountered, who admitted her child was hungry but was timid about nursing him. “She was shy and didn’t want to breast-feed in public, while the pope was passing,” he said. “I wish to say the same to humanity: give people something to eat! That woman had milk to give to her child; we have enough food in the world to feed everyone.”

As a mother who has nursed her babies, I was, and am, moved. If we are encouraged and welcomed to satiate and feed our babies in a manner that has somehow become scandalous in the Sistine Chapel, underneath a masterpiece by Michelangelo and in the presence of the Pope himself, we should feel empowered to provide for our babies anywhere, anytime. Not only that, it’s refreshing to see someone, especially in a position of power, standing up for the vulnerable.

About Rachel Kiser

Rachel is a wife and mother living in Raleigh, North Carolina. She’s a fan of good coffee, wearer of gray t-shirts, and is constantly starting books she will never finish. Her family is her joy, and she loves to engage with other moms and dads on matters of parenting. Her blog posts have also been featured on the Today Show Parenting Blog and Scary Mommy.

View all posts by Rachel Kiser here.

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