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Pope Leo XIV remembers the people during his first Christmas Day Mass on Thursday Gaza “Suffered rain, wind and cold for weeks” and said that many of the world’s conflicts could only be defused through dialogue.
Leo led the Christmas Day Mass from the central altar under the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, decorated with garlands of flowers and clusters of red poinsettias. White flowers were offered at the feet of a statue of MyMother of Jesus, whose birth is celebrated on Christmas Day.
remembering him God Incarnated through the birth of Jesus in a manger bethlehemLeo compared God’s Word to “a delicate tent among us.”
“How then can we not think about those tents in Gaza, exposed to rain, wind and cold for weeks; and about so many refugees and displaced people on every continent, or about the temporary shelters for thousands of homeless people in our own cities,” Leo said.
The Pontiff also recalled “the defenseless population caused by so many wars” and “the fragility of young people forced to take up arms, who feel the insensitivity of what is asked of them on the front lines, and the lies that fill the pompous speeches of those who send them to death.”
Leo underlined that peace can only come through dialogue.
He said, “Peace will come when our monologue is interrupted and, enriched by listening, we surrender to the humanity of the other.”
Thousands of people packed the basilica for the Pope’s first Christmas Day Mass, holding up their smartphones to capture photos of the opening procession.
Leo would later deliver the traditional Christmas message from the loggia overlooking St. Peter’s Square, where worshipers were gathering amid a steady rain. “Urbi et Orbi” blessing – Latin For “To the City and the World” – serves as a summary of the crises facing the world this year.
This Christmas season marks the conclusion of the Holy Year celebrations, which will culminate on January 6 on the Catholic Epiphany holiday, which marks the visit of the Three Wise Men to the infant Jesus in Bethlehem.
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Barry reported from Milan.