Pope Leo's first Christmas: Pontiff leads mass at St. Peter's Basilica
by David Olaseinde · Mail OnlineThousands watched on as Pope Leo led his first Christmas mass at St. Peter's Basilica.
Pope Leo XIV held the first Christmas mass of his pontificate on Wednesday, greeting thousands of faithful in St Peter's Square before the service.
During the mass, Leo said Christmas was a feast of 'faith, charity and hope' and criticised a 'distorted economy' that 'leads us to treat human beings as mere merchandise'.
About 6,000 were in attendance at the solemn service inside the basilica.
Before, the pope spoke in front of St Peter's basilica to offer Christmas wishes and thank those who had come to follow the mass on outdoor screens in the rainy weather.
Many watched the service on screens from St. Peter's Square, holding umbrellas and wearing ponchos under a hard rain in Rome.
'St Peter's is very large but unfortunately it is not large enough to receive all of you,' he told the crowd of around 5,000 people.
Pope Leo replaced his predecessor Francis, who died on April 21.
The service combines traditional music with symbolic gestures such as placing a statue of the baby Jesus in a cradle.
The mass was attended by high-ranking Church figures, diplomats and around 6,000 faithful.
The ceremony celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and is one of the most important days in the Catholic Church calendar.
The service combines traditional music with symbolic gestures such as placing a statue of the baby Jesus in a cradle.
Leo stuck to a very religious homily without any direct reference to current affairs.
Leo, who has made care for immigrants and the poor key themes of his early papacy, said Jesus' birth showed God's presence in every person.
'On earth, there is no room for God if there is no room for the human person. To refuse one is to refuse the other,' said the pope.
He quoted a line from the late Pope Benedict XVI lamenting that the world does not care for children, the poor or foreigners.
'While a distorted economy leads us to treat human beings as mere merchandise, God becomes like us, revealing the infinite dignity of every person,' said Leo.
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'Where there is room for the human person, there is room for God,' he said. 'Even a stable can become more sacred than a temple.'
The 70-year-old pope decided to hold the mass at a later time than under his predecessor, the more elderly Francis who would hold Christmas mass at around 1830 GMT.
In another change, Leo will hold another mass on Christmas Day on Thursday, renewing a tradition from the times of late pope John Paul II (1978-2005).
Leo on Tuesday called for a global truce around the world on Christmas Day, expressing 'great sadness' that 'apparently Russia rejected a request' for one in Ukraine.
'I am renewing my request to all people of good will to respect a day of peace - at least on the feast of the birth of our Saviour,' Leo told reporters at his residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome.
On Thursday, the pope will celebrate a Christmas Day Mass and deliver a twice-yearly 'Urbi et Orbi' (to the city and the world) message and blessing.
Christmas 2025 also marks the end of the Catholic Church's Jubilee Holy Year, which has brought millions of pilgrims to Rome.