In first Christmas message, Pope Leo decries Palestinians in Gaza forced to shelter in tents from ‘rain, wind and cold’

By Christopher Lamb, CNN

Rome (CNN) — Pope Leo XIV celebrated the first Christmas since his election by denouncing the suffering of people of Gaza – taking shelter in tents from the “rain, wind and cold” – and by calling for the guns to fall silent in Ukraine.

On Christmas Day, the first US-born pope, offered the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing (“To the City and to the World”) from the balcony of St Peter’s, surveying a world speckled with conflicts from Yemen to Myanmar, and calling for compassion towards those who have fled their homelands to seek a future in Europe and America.

Leo, who was elected on May 8, said Thursday that Jesus Christ is “our peace” because he “shows us the way to overcome conflicts, whether interpersonal or international. With his grace, we can and must each day our part to reject hatred, violence and opposition, and to practice dialogue, peace and reconciliation.”

The pontiff began by asking for “justice, peace and stability” for Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Israel and Syria. Later, he said that, by becoming man, “Jesus took upon himself our fragility,” allowing him to identify “with those who have nothing left and have lost everything, like the inhabitants of Gaza.”

The pope’s first Christmas since his election took place in wet and cold conditions, but that failed to deter large crowds from coming out to hear his message.

Earlier during Mass, he asked how, at Christmas, “can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold.” With more than 400,000 homes destroyed during Israel’s war against Hamas, Gazans are being forced to choose this winter between living in tents exposed to the elements or living inside buildings that could collapse any minute.

“Fragile is the flesh of defenseless populations, tried by so many wars, ongoing or concluded, leaving behind rubble and open wounds,” Leo said. He quoted an Israeli poet, Yehuda Amichai, who called for peace to blossom “like wildflowers.”

Later during his Christmas message, he called for compassion towards those “who are fleeing their homeland to seek a future elsewhere, like the many refugees and migrants who cross the Mediterranean or traverse the American continent.” He offered Christmas greetings in different languages including Italian, English, Arabic, Chinese, Polish.

Since his election, Leo has highlighted the plight of those suffering of those in Gaza, and has been outspoken by calling for the better treatment of migrants. In his first major interview in September, the American pope voiced concern over “some things” happening in the country of his birth, highlighting the significance of a letter his predecessor, Pope Francis, had sent to US bishops earlier this year, rebuking the administration’s deportation plans.

Leo also used his Christmas blessing to pray for the “tormented people of Ukraine,” who have resisted Russia’s invasion for nearly four years. “May the clamor of weapons cease, and may the parties involved, with the support and commitment of the international community, find the courage to engage in sincere, direct and respectful dialogue,” Leo said.

Leo began the Christmas celebrations by presiding at a Christmas evening “Midnight Mass” in a packed St Peter’s Basilica, attended by dozens of cardinals, and at the beginning of the service children from South Korea, India, Mozambique, Paraguay, Poland and Ukraine carried flowers and accompanied Leo in procession to the nativity scene.

The Vatican said 6,000 people were in the Basilica, while 5,000 gathered outside in the square to follow the Mass on big screens, many of them holding up umbrellas to protect them from the rain. Leo thanked them for coming out in the bad weather saying, “I admire and respect and thank you for your courage and your willingness to be here this evening.”

In his homily Leo talked about the “wisdom” of the Christmas story, saying that “while humanity seeks to become “god” in order to dominate others, God chooses to become man in order to free us from every form of slavery. Will this love be enough to change our history?”

A day before, the pope said he felt “much sadness” that Russia had not agreed to a Christmas truce in its war against Ukraine saying he hoped for “at least 24 hours” of peace. Leo, who was elected in May, has met President Volodymyr Zelensky on several occasions and has put forward the Vatican as a mediator for peace talks with Russia, an offer that Moscow has not taken up. Like his recent predecessors, Leo has focused on trying to be a peacemaker, and in a card prepare by the papal household wrote that “The Christmas of the Lord is the Christmas of Peace.”

The 70-year-old pope, who is the youngest pontiff since John Paul II was elected aged 58, is presiding at more Christmas services than his immediate predecessors, restoring the tradition of celebrating a Mass on Christmas Day, the first time since 1994.

Leo’s Christmas Eve service began at 10 p.m. Rome-time, later than in recent years, with the Christmas vigil mass moved to around 7 p.m. due to Covid pandemic curfews and remaining at that time. Before 2009 the mass took place at midnight, until Benedict XVI decided to move it two hours earlier.

St Peter’s Square has been decorated with a nativity scene from the Diocese of Nocera Inferiore-Sarno, in Campania, southwest Italy, and a 25-meter-tall Christmas tree from the Val d’Ultimo area in Bolzano, northern Italy. St. Peter’s is also hosting an exhibition of more than 100 Christmas crib scenes from different cities and countries, including one from Chicago, Pope Leo’s hometown and Peru, where he served as a missionary and bishop for several years.

The Christmas period will also mark the official end of the Catholic Church’s jubilee year, 12 months dedicated to pilgrimage, spiritual renewal and forgiveness which takes place every 25 years. Special “holy doors” in the four papal basilicas, which pilgrims can walk through during the jubilee year, will be closed and boarded up in the coming days. Leo will preside at the closing of the holy door in St Peter’s on January 6, 2026.

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