In his traditional Christmas message, Pope Francis called on “all people of all nations” to find the courage this Holy Year “to silence the sounds of weapons and overcome the divisions” plaguing the world, from the Middle East to Ukraine, from Africa to Asia.
The Pope's “Urbi et Orbi” (To the City and the World) speech summarizes the misfortunes facing the world this year. As Christmas coincided with the beginning of the celebration of the Holy Year 2025, which he dedicated to hope, Francis called for broad reconciliation “even (with) our enemies.”
“I call on every person and all people of all nations… to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the sounds of weapons and overcome divisions,” the Pope said from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica. Peter to the crowds below.
The Pope recalled the Holy Door of St. Basilica. Peter, which he opened on Christmas Eve to begin the Jubilee of 2025, symbolizing God's mercy that “unties every knot, breaks down every wall of division, scatters hatred and the spirit of vengeance.”
WATCH | Pope Francis delivers his Christmas message “Urbi et Orbi”:
He called for silencing the guns in war-torn Ukraine and the Middle East, singling out Christian communities in Israel and the Palestinian territories, “especially in Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is extremely serious,” as well as in Lebanon and Syria “at this most delicate moment.”
Francis repeated his calls for the release of hostages taken from Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
He cited a deadly measles epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the suffering of the people of Myanmar forced to flee their homes amid “continuous clashes of weapons.” The Pope also remembered children suffering from war and hunger, elderly people living alone and fleeing their homeland, those who lost their jobs and people persecuted for their faith.
The Jubilee was expected to attract millions to Rome
On Christmas Day, pilgrims lined up to pass through the great Holy Door at the entrance to St. Peter's Basilica, as the Jubilee is expected to bring some 32 million Catholic faithful to Rome.
Passing through the Holy Door is one of the ways for the faithful to obtain indulgences, i.e. forgiveness of sins during the Jubilee, in accordance with a tradition that takes place once every quarter of a century, which dates back to 1300.
Pilgrims have undergone security checks before entering the Holy Door amid new security concerns following a deadly attack on a Christmas market in Germany.
Many people stopped to touch the door as they passed and made the sign of the cross as they entered the basilica dedicated to Saint. Peter, the founder of the Roman Catholic Church.
“You feel so humbled when you walk through the door that when you walk through it, it's almost like a release, a release of emotions,” said Blanca Martin, a pilgrim from San Diego. “It's almost like a release of emotions, you feel like now you can let go and give everything into God's hands. You see, I'm getting emotional. It's just a beautiful experience.”