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Pope Leo, in procession, entered St. Peter’s Basilica to celebrate the mass of the “day” on the solemnity of Christmas: “Peace is possible if we overcome our monologues”
Pope Leoin procession, at 10 am today, December 25th, made its entrance into St. Peter’s Basilica to celebrate the mass of the “day” on the solemnity of Natale. The celebration of the “day” had not been celebrated by a Pope since the time of John Paul II. The last time it happened was in 1994. Starting from the pontificate of Paul VI, in fact, the Popes had generally entrusted this celebration to a cardinal, personally reserving the Urbi et Orbi blessing of the South.
The Pope, in St. Peter’s Basilica, taking up a tradition that was alive until Wojtyla’s time, then presides over the Christmas mass. And then at 12 he appeared at the Blessings lodge for the the message of the City and the World.
Shortly before, one surprise of Christmas: Prevost, on board the Popemobile, is released in St. Peter’s Square to greet the faithful present, approximately 26 thousand people the Holy See announced.
The Pope: «I think of the tents in Gaza exposed to the cold»
«Dear brothers and sisters, since the Word became flesh, now the flesh speaks, the divine desire to meet us shouts. The Word has established his fragile tent among us. And how can you not think about tend in Gazaexposed to rain for weeks, al wind and coldand to those of many other refugees and refugees on every continent, or to the makeshift shelters of thousands of homeless people within our cities?” Thus Pope Leohomily of the mass.
The peace is «possible»he chanted, recalling that it is the gift of the incarnation that we celebrate at Christmas. For Leone, true peace is not an abstract concept or a balance of forces, but an internal and social event that arises from the encounter with the other: «When the fragility of others penetrates our hearts, when the pain of others shatters our granite certainties, then peace already begins». It, he added, “is born from a cry welcomed, from a cry heard: it is born among ruins that call for new solidarity”. Remembering the Virgin Mary as “Queen of Peace”, Leo XIV concluded by reaffirming that in history “nothing is born from the exhibition of strength and everything is reborn from the silent power of accepted life”.
«There will be peace – said Leo XIV – when i our monologues will be interrupted and, enriched by listening, we will fall to our knees before the naked flesh of others.”
«It is a true power – continued the Pontiff – to become children of God: a power that remains buried as long as we are detached from the crying of children and the fragility of the elderly, from the helpless silence of the victims and from the resigned melancholy of those who do the evil they don’t want.”
Prevost then quoted Pope Francissaying: «Sometimes we feel the temptation to be Christians while maintaining a prudent distance from the wounds of the Lord. But Jesus wants us to touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of others. He waits for us to give up looking for those personal or community shelters that allow us to keep our distance from the crux of the human drama, so that we truly accept coming into contact with the concrete existence of others and know the strength of tenderness».
«The Church does not serve bullies but good»
«Christmas re-motivates one Missionary churchpushing her along the paths that the Word of God has traced for her. We do not serve an overbearing word – they already resonate everywhere – but a presence that inspires good, knows its effectiveness, does not claim a monopoly on it. Here is the path of mission: a path towards the other. In God every word is a spoken word, it is an invitation to conversation, a word that is never the same as itself. It is the renewal that the Vatican Council II has promoted and which we will see flourish only by walking together with all of humanity, never separating us. Worldly it’s the opposite: having yourself as the center.”
At the end of the Urbi et Orbi message, theUkrainian embassy to the Holy See wrote on X: «Pope Leo XIV reminds us that peace comes from responsibility, dialogue and solidarity. For Ukraine, which lives under aggression, these words are essential. Thanks to the Holy Father for his moral voice.”
The closing of the Holy Doors: today Santa Maria Maggiore
The closing rites of the Holy Doors opened today for the Jubilee of Mercy announced by Pope Francis also begin today. There Holy Door which closes today at Santa Maria Maggiore it was opened on January 1st and during the Holy Year it was crossed by more than twenty million pilgrims and faithful. The closing date was not chosen randomly, the Holy See said. Santa Maria Maggiore, in fact, is the Basilica of Holy Christmas, guardian of the relics of the Holy Cradle where the newborn Baby Jesus was placed. Here Pope Francis rests.
The ceremony begins with the singing of the Second Vespers and, following this, at 6pm, the closing rite is held accompanied by the ringing of the Sperduta, the ancient bell of the Basilica.
Then the closing of the other Doors, San Giovanni and San Paolo, until the last one, on 6 January, that of San Pietro: to celebrate the rite Pope Leo XIV.
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December 25, 2025 (changed December 25, 2025 | 2:23 pm)
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