Christmas Mass, Pope Leo XIV’s homily: ‘Distorted economy treats men like goods’

No to a distorted economy that treats men as commodities, no more violence and oppression. This is the message of Pope Leo XIV during the celebration of his first Christmas Eve mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. At the central Altar of Confession, almost 250 cardinals, bishops and priests. The Sistine Chapel Choir accompanied the entrance with the song “Noel”.

The Pope surprisingly left earlier in the rain in St. Peter’s Square to greet those present, around five thousand people, before celebrating mass. “Thank you for coming even in the rain! Best wishes to everyone!” he said. “Jesus brings us peace.” Inside the Basilica another 6 thousand people.

Pope: “Against the temptations of domination, God becomes man”

“While a distorted economy leads us to treat men as commodities, God becomes similar to us, revealing the infinite dignity of every person. While man wants to become God to dominate over others, God wants to become man to free us from all slavery. Will this love be enough for us to change our history?”, said Pope Leo during the homily of the Midnight Mass on the solemnity of Christmas. Leone invites us to “admire” the “wisdom of Christmas”. “In the face of violence and oppression, in the child Jesus, God gives the world a new life: his, for everyone”, says the Pontiff who then quotes Pope Francis: “Exactly one year ago Pope Francis stated that the Christmas of Jesus revives in us ‘the gift and the commitment to bring hope where it has been lost’, because ‘with Him joy flourishes, with Him life changes, with Him hope does not disappoint’. With these words he began the Holy Year. Now that the Jubilee is approaching its completion, Christmas is for us a time of gratitude and mission. Gratitude for the gift received, a mission to bear witness to it to the world”.

At the end of the mass, Pope Leo paid homage, standing in front of it for a few moments, to the Madonna of Hope located to the right of the altar of Confession. Coming from the sanctuary of Battipaglia in the province of Salerno, it will remain in the Vatican until the Epiphany. Then proceeding in procession, the Pontiff carried the baby towards the cradle of the basilica’s nativity scene where a celebrant placed him almost at the stroke of midnight. The Pope paused for a few more moments in silent prayer before leaving the basilica.