Vatican City, Dec 17, 2017 / 19:27 pm
Pope Francis celebrated his 81st birthday with a pizza party for sick children Sunday, reflecting on the joy of children and the importance that they are raised with the faith.
"The joy of children is a treasure," he said Dec. 17. "And we ought to do everything so that they continue to be joyous."
"A joyous spirit is like good land that grows life well, with good fruit," he said in his Vatican meeting with the children being treated by the Pediatric Dispensary of Santa Marta.
Pope Francis encouraged the children to speak with their grandparents. Grandparents "have memory, have roots, and it will be the grandparents that give roots to the children," he said.