Pope Leo XIV Urges Faithful to Shed Indifference to Suffering in First Christmas Message

On Christmas Day, under skies that had poured rain on the faithful during the morning Mass, Pope Leo XIV stepped onto the loggia overlooking St. Peter's Square and spoke to about 26,000 people. It was his first Christmas as pontiff and the first time an American has delivered the traditional "Urbi et Orbi" address, Latin for "To the City and to the World," a message that works as a survey of the world's troubles.

The rain had eased by the time he rode briefly through the square in the popemobile and then addressed the crowd. Earlier, a steady downpour had fallen on those gathered outside while the papal Mass was held inside the basilica. Leo also revived a custom his predecessor, Pope Francis, had dropped: offering Christmas greetings in multiple languages. The warmest cheers came when he spoke English, his native language, and Spanish, the language of Peru, the country he adopted, where he served first as a missionary and then as archbishop.

The heart of his message was a call to put aside indifference. He said that if people truly entered into the suffering of others and stood with the weak and the oppressed, the world would change. He tied that to the Christmas story, saying that in becoming man, Jesus took on human fragility and identified with each person: with those who have lost everything, like the inhabitants of Gaza; with those prey to hunger and poverty, like the Yemeni people; and with those fleeing their homelands to seek a future elsewhere, like the many refugees and migrants who cross the Mediterranean or traverse the American continent. He also remembered people who have lost jobs or are looking for work, especially young people, underpaid workers and prisoners.

His list of appeals ranged widely. He called for justice, peace and stability in Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and Syria, and asked for prayers for the tormented people of Ukraine. He sought peace and consolation for victims of war, injustice, political instability, religious persecution and terrorism, naming Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso and Congo. He urged dialogue to meet the numerous challenges of Latin America, reconciliation in Myanmar, and the restoration of the ancient friendship between Thailand and Cambodia. He also asked for help for people struck by natural disasters in South Asia and Oceania. Everyone, he said, could contribute to peace by acting with humility and responsibility.

The same theme ran through his homily at the Christmas Day Mass, celebrated at the central altar beneath the balustrade of St. Peter's Basilica, which was decorated with floral garlands and clusters of red poinsettias, with white flowers placed at the feet of a statue of Mary. Peace, he said, comes only through dialogue: there will be peace when monologues are interrupted and, enriched by listening, people fall to their knees before the humanity of the other.

In that homily he spoke of the people of Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold, and of defenseless populations tried by so many wars. He also spoke of young people forced to take up arms, who on the front lines feel the senselessness of what is asked of them and the falsehoods in the pompous speeches of those who send them to their deaths. Thousands packed the basilica for the Mass, many holding up smartphones to film the opening procession.

As the address ended, someone in the crowd shouted "Viva il papa!" Leo took off his glasses for a final wave before going back inside the basilica.

The Christmas season also marks the winding down of the Holy Year, which closes January 6, the Epiphany, when Catholics remember the visit of the three wise men to the infant Jesus in Bethlehem. His emphasis on listening and dialogue offers an early indication of the tone he intends for his papacy.