Name: Pope Leo calls for peace in countries torn by wars on Christmas Day
Uploaded: 2025-12-25T17:40:09.551Z
Duration: 1 min 30 s
Description: Pope Leo XIV during his first Christmas Day message on Thursday called for “peace and consolation” for victims of “injustice, political stability, religious persecution and terrorism”, citing Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso and Congo

Pope Leo XIV during his first Christmas Day message on Thursday called for “peace and consolation” for victims of “injustice, political stability, religious persecution and terrorism”, citing Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso and Congo

Rome

Pope Leo XIV delivered his first Christmas homily at St. Peter's Basilica, calling for world peace and remembering those affected by wars, particularly in Gaza and among refugees worldwide. He urged greater protection for defenseless populations and referenced the hardships faced by displaced people and the homeless.

Addressing thousands of faithful, the Pope stressed that ongoing global conflicts can only be resolved through dialogue. He concluded with the traditional Christmas message and his first 'ubi et orbi' blessing, as the holy year celebrations near their end on January 6th.

Pope Leo calls for peace in countries torn by wars on Christmas Day

Pope Leo XIV has called for world peace in his first Christmas homily. The pontiff remembered the people in Gaza, as well as refugees displaced all over the world, calling for greater protection of the, quote, defenseless populations. The world has pitched his fragile tent among us. How then can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind, and cold? And of those, of so many other refugees and displaced persons on every continent, or of the makeshift shelters of thousands of homeless people in our own cities? Fragile is the flesh of defenseless populations, tried by so many wars, ongoing or concluded, leaving behind rubble and open wounds. The Pope, delivering an address at St. Peter's Basilica to thousands of faithful, stressed that the world's many conflicts can only be resolved through dialogue. He then delivered the traditional Christmas message from Alogia, overlooking St. Peter's Square, where he gave his first ubi e obi blessing, meaning to the city and to the world. The Christmas season marks the winding down of the holy year celebrations, which are set to close on the 6th of January.

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