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Pope Leo XIV ends 2025 with a prayer for the city Rome Could be a place that welcomes foreigners and the disadvantaged, young and old.
On Wednesday, Leo led the New Year’s Eve Vespers service in St. Peter’s Basilica, giving thanks for the Holy Year 2025 that attracts millions of pilgrims to Rome for celebrations that come every quarter of a century. Christianity.
Before reciting the traditional hymn of thanksgiving, the Eucharist, Pope Leo said he thanked God for “the gift of the Jubilee, a powerful sign of his plan of hope for humanity and the world.”
He will officially end his jubilee on January 6. But in his homily, he thanked the city of Rome and the volunteers who helped keep the crowds flowing as they visited St. Peter’s Basilica and passed through the Holy Door.
he recalled Pope FrancisLaunching the Holy Year on December 24, 2024, he asked that Rome become a more welcoming place.
“I hope so again, and even more so after this grace,” Leo said.
“What hope do we have for Rome? For it to be worthy of its little children. Children, elderly people who are alone and vulnerable, families struggling to get by, men and women who have come from far and wide in the hope of living a dignified life,” he said.
Sitting on the benches were the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, and other dignitaries.
In addition to the jubilee, 2025 is also significant because of the papal transition that took place after Francis’ death in April, with cardinals electing the first pope in history to come from the Papal States. USA.
this Holy See Statistics released this week show that 3.2 million people attended Vatican liturgies, audiences, Angelus prayers and Jubilee audiences this year. The numbers were small in the first quarter because of Francis’ prolonged hospitalization and illness, but rose sharply after Leo’s election in May.