Vatican City, 31 December, 2021 / 6:00 pm (ACI Africa).
On New Year’s Eve, Pope Francis invited everyone to trust in Jesus Christ, the person who can give meaning to the ups and downs of daily life.
The Child Jesus “does not disappoint,” the pope said on Dec. 31 in St. Peter’s Basilica. “Let us follow him on our daily journey: he brings time to its fullness, he gives meaning to what we do and to the days we live. Let us trust in joyful times and in sorrowful times: the hope he gives us is a hope that never disappoints.”
Speaking during First Vespers, Francis said today Mother Church and Mother Mary show us the Baby Jesus, and smiling at us, Mary says: “He is the Way. Follow him, trust.”
First Vespers was prayed at the Vatican in anticipation of the Jan. 1 Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. The prayer service also included Eucharistic adoration and benediction, and the singing of the “Te Deum,” a Latin hymn of thanksgiving from the early Church.
Pope Francis attended and delivered the homily, but the liturgy was presided over by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, deacon of the College of Cardinals. Re also presided over First Vespers in 2020, when Pope Francis canceled his attendance due to a flare-up of sciatic pain.