Overview
- Celebrating his first Christmas Eve liturgy at St. Peter’s, the Pope condemned economic systems that treat people as commodities and stressed the infinite dignity of every person, citing Benedict XVI and Saint Augustine.
- He made an unscheduled appearance in the rain to greet crowds before the Night Mass, with the Holy See reporting about 6,000 faithful inside the basilica and roughly 5,000 in the square.
- On Christmas Day he presided over a daytime Mass in St. Peter’s for the first time by a pope since 1994, linking the Incarnation to concrete suffering and urging a peace born of listening and encounter.
- In his day homily he evoked the “tents of Gaza” exposed to cold and rain, widened the focus to refugees and the homeless worldwide, and called the Church to serve the good without wielding a domineering word.
- The Apostolic Nuncio in Ukraine said he hopes a papal visit will occur and noted that preparations continue to ensure such a trip would carry spiritual and humanitarian weight.