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Pope Leo XIV held the first Christmas mass of his papacy on Wednesday, greeting thousands of faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square before the service.
Before, he 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 despite rainy weather.
“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.
The American Pope has adopted a more discreet, moderate style than his charismatic predecessor, Francis, who died on April 21.
The mass was attended by high-ranking Church figures, diplomats and around 6,000 faithful. Leo stuck to a very religious homily without any direct reference to current affairs.
The ceremony celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and is one of the most critical 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.
The 70-year-old pope decided to hold the mass later than under the more elderly Francis, who would hold Christmas mass around 1830 GMT. In another change, Leo will have another mass on Christmas Day on Thursday, renewing a tradition from the time of late Pope John Paul II (1978-2005).
He will then give his “Urbi et Orbi” blessing at 1100 GMT from the balcony of the basilica, during which popes usually speak about conflicts around the world and call for peace.
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.
Christmas 2025 also marks the end of the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Holy Year, which has brought millions of pilgrims to Rome.
