Each year, on the Third Sunday of Advent, children gather with their families in Saint Peter's Square for "Bambinelli Sunday." The children bring with them figures of the Christ Child—the Bambinelli—from their family's Nativity scene. During the Angelus prayer, the pope blesses the children, their families, and the figurines they have brought.

Bambinelli Sunday tells the story of one little boy, Alessandro, and what he learns from Baby Jesus about the love that can overcome anything.