Christmas lights remind that Christ is light of world, says pope

Published: 2005-12-21

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Admiring the Christmas lights as they walk down city streets, Christians should remember that Christ is the light of the world, Pope Benedict XVI said. As temperatures in St. Peter's Square hovered just above freezing and a light rain fell intermittently, Pope Benedict arrived for his Dec. 21 general audience wearing a "camauro," a red velvet cap trimmed with ermine. One British journalist said he thought the pope wore the cap in anticipation of Christmas, but the "camauro" is another piece of the traditional papal wardrobe Pope Benedict has revived. He wore the matching red velvet, ermine-trimmed cape -- called a mozzetta -- during his Dec. 8 visit to the center of Rome for the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Pope John XXIII was the last pope to wear a "camauro" in public. He was buried in a glass casket in St. Peter's Basilica wearing one.

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