Pope Francis marked his 87th birthday on Sunday with a party and cake for children before he kept his weekly appointment for the Sunday Angelus. The children got special attention there too, as many of them had brought the Christ Child figures from their Nativity scenes for the Holy Father to bless. St. John Paul II began the custom of blessing on Gaudete Sunday (Third Sunday of Advent) the Baby Jesus figurines that will be placed in crèche scenes at Christmas. Both Benedict XVI and Francis have continued the custom, and it has also spread around the world.