Pope Francis on Saturday paid a pre-Christmas visit to dozens of children at a Catholic pediatric hospital in Rome, observing a decades-old papal tradition. Stopping in the hospital's chapel, the pope was given a basket containing handwritten messages from the children. "Thank you for your dreams and prayers that you have put in this basket," the pope said, according to a Vatican statement. "Let's entrust them together to the Lord, who knows them more than anyone." Heading into the various wards during the visit of nearly three hours, the 77-year-old pontiff waved away photographers, saying: "I'm here for the patients." The Vatican-owned hospital, Bambino Gesu (Baby Jesus), is Europe's largest pediatric research center, with a staff of 2,600 serving some 27,000 patients each year. Pope John XXIII began the tradition of papal visits to Bambino Gesu at Christmastime in 1958.