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Pope Francis will open five jubilee Holy Doors in the Christmas season between Dec. 24 and Jan. 6.
Invoking the spirit of Christmas, leaders of Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Syriac, Armenian, and other churches gave thanks to God for the recent ceasefire in Lebanon.
The pope emphasized the unique power of music to foster unity and communion, drawing parallels to the first Christmas.
In his Christmas homily, Pope Francis shared a message for anyone who may be feeling sad or discouraged with a reminder that the Lord was born to save the world and to give us a hope that is greater than all of our problems.
On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis urged Christians not to confuse Christmas with consumerism, but to celebrate the birth of Christ by sharing with those who are lonely and in need.
The full text of Pope Francis’ homily for the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, delivered on Dec. 24, 2023, in St. Peter’s Basilica.
In the first ages, during the night before every feast, a vigil was kept. In the evening the faithful assembled in the place or church where the feast was to be celebrated and prepared themselves by prayers, readings from Holy Writ (now the Offices of Vespers and Matins), and sometimes also by hearing a sermon.
The fourth Sunday of Advent falls on Christmas Eve. That means the faithful must attend two Masses in a row to meet their Sunday and Christmas Day obligations.
As the season of Advent draws near, the Vatican has published the schedule of Pope Francis’ liturgies for Christmas through the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
In his Christmas Day blessing, Pope Francis prayed that leaders will listen to the “cries of the Prince of Peace” and bring an immediate end to the war in Ukraine and “the other theaters of this third world war.”
On Christmas Day 2022, Pope Francis delivered his “Urbi et Orbi” address and blessing from the central balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square. The following is the full text of the pope’s Christmas message.
Pope Francis is inviting everyone to have “a more humble Christmas” this year.
The pope was speaking at the Sunday Angelus.
He spoke from the central balcony overlooking a rainy St. Peter’s Square.
In his Christmas homily, Pope Francis asked Christians to contemplate that God did not choose to come into the world in grandeur, but as a humble child born into poverty.
This weekend, Latin rite Catholics have an obligation to attend Mass on both Christmas Day, Saturday, Dec. 25, and on the following day, Sunday, Dec. 26.
Displaced Christians in Burkina Faso are remembering with nostalgia how joyfully they celebrated Christmas before militants uprooted them from their homes, forcing them to seek refuge elsewhere.
The Archbishop of Abuja in Nigeria has called upon the people of God in the West African country that is battling insecurity issues to be inspired by the spirit of Christmas to embrace peace.
The guidelines were withdrawn on Tuesday.
Giving his traditional Christmas “Urbi et Orbi” blessing Friday, Pope Francis called for coronavirus vaccines to be made available to the world’s neediest people.