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Full text: Pope Leo XIV’s Christmas night homily

Full text: Pope Leo XIV’s Christmas night homily

Pope Leo XIV venerates a statue of the Child Jesus during the celebration of Christmas Mass during the Night in St. Peter's Basilica on Dec. 24, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA. Vatican City, Dec 24, 2025 / 17:31 pm (CNA). Pope Leo XIV celebrated Christmas Mass during the Night in St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday. The Mass was attended by an estimated 6,000 people inside the basilica, while around 5,000 people gathered outside in St. Peter's Square, according to the Vatican. Below is the full text of the pope’s Christmas night homily: Dear brothers and sisters, For millennia, across the earth, peoples have gazed up at the sky, giving names to the silent stars, and seeing images therein. In their imaginative yearning, they tried to read the future in the heavens, seeking on high for a truth that was absent below amidst their homes. Yet, as if grasping in the dark, they remained lost, confounded by their own oracles. On this night, however, “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined” ( Is 9:2). Behold the star that astonishes the world, a spark newly lit and blazing with life: “To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord” ( Lk 2:11). Into time and space — in our midst — comes the One without whom we would not exist. He who gives his life for us lives among us, illuminating the night with his light of salvation. There is no darkness that this star does not illumine, for by its light all humanity beholds the dawn of a new and eternal life. It is the birth of Jesus, Emmanuel. In the Son made man, God gives us nothing less than his very self, in order to “redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own” ( Titus 2:14). Born in the night is the One who redeems us from the night. The hint of the dawning day is no longer to be sought in the distant reaches of the cosmos, but by bending low, in the stable nearby. The clear sign given to a darkened world is indeed “a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger” ( Lk 2:12). To find the Savior, one must not gaze upward, but look below: the omnipotence of God shines forth in the powerlessness of a newborn; the eloquence of the eternal Word resounds in an infant’s first cry; the holiness of the Spirit gleams in that small body, freshly washed and wrapped in swaddling clothes. The need for care and warmth becomes divine since the Son of the Father shares in history with all his brothers and sisters. The divine light radiating from this Child helps us to recognize humanity in every new life. To heal our blindness, the Lord chooses to reveal himself in each human being, who reflect his true image, according to a plan of love begun at the creation of the world. As long as the night of error obscures this providential truth, then “there is no room for others either, for children, for the poor, for the stranger” (Benedict XVI, Homily, Christmas Mass during the Night , 24 December 2012). These words of Pope Benedict XVI remain a timely reminder that on earth, there is no room for God if there is no room for the human person. To refuse one is to refuse the other. Yet, where there is room for the human person, there is room for God; even a stable can become more sacred than a temple, and the womb of the Virgin Mary become the Ark of the New Covenant. Let us marvel, dear brothers and sisters, at the wisdom of Christmas. In the Child Jesus, God gives the world a new life: his own, offered for all. He does not give us a clever solution to every problem, but a love story that draws us in. In response to the expectations of peoples, he sends a child to be a word of hope. In the face of the suffering of the poor, he sends one who is defenseless to be the strength to rise again. Before violence and oppression, he kindles a gentle light that illumines with salvation all the children of this world. As Saint Augustine observed, “human pride weighed you down so heavily that only divine humility could raise you up again” (Saint Augustine, Sermon 188 , III, 3). While a distorted economy leads us to treat human beings as mere merchandise, God becomes like us, revealing the infinite dignity of every person. While humanity seeks to become “god” in order to dominate others, God chooses to become man in order to free us from every form of slavery. Will this love be enough to change our history? The answer will come as soon as we wake up from a deadly night into the light of new life, and, like the shepherds, contemplate the Child Jesus. Above the stable of Bethlehem, where Mary and Joseph watch over the newborn Child with hearts full of wonder, the starry sky is transformed into “a multitude of the heavenly host” ( Lk 2:13). These are unarmed and disarming hosts, for they sing of the glory of God, of which peace on earth is the true manifestation (cf. v. 14). Indeed, in the heart of Christ beats the bond of love that unites heaven and earth, Creator and creatures. For this reason, exactly one year ago, Pope Francis affirmed that the Nativity of Jesus rekindles in us the “gift and task of bringing hope wherever hope has been lost,” because “with him, joy flourishes; with him, life changes; with him, hope does not disappoint” ( Homily, Christmas Mass during the Night , 24 December 2024). With these words, the Holy Year began. Now, as the Jubilee draws to a close, Christmas becomes for us a time of gratitude and mission; gratitude for the gift received, and mission to bear witness to it before the world. As the Psalmist sings: “Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all the peoples” ( Ps 96:2–3). Brothers and sisters, contemplation of the Word made flesh awakens in the whole Church a new and true proclamation. Let us therefore announce the joy of Christmas, which is a feast of faith, charity and hope. It is a feast of faith, because God becomes man, born of the Virgin. It is a feast of charity, because the gift of the redeeming Son is realized in fraternal self-giving. It is a feast of hope, because the Child Jesus kindles it within us, making us messengers of peace. With these virtues in our hearts, unafraid of the night, we can go forth to meet the dawn of a new day.

Pope Leo XIV on Christmas night: Make room for others

Pope Leo XIV on Christmas night: Make room for others

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Christmas Mass during the Night in a packed St. Peter's Basilica on Dec. 24, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA. Vatican City, Dec 24, 2025 / 17:30 pm (CNA). Pope Leo XIV, at Christmas Mass during the Night, said Christ’s birth brings light into the world’s darkness — and where the human person is welcomed, God is welcomed too. “To enlighten our blindness, the Lord chose to reveal himself as a man to man, his true image, according to a plan of love that began with the creation of the world,” the pope said in his homily in St. Peter’s Basilica Dec. 24. “As long as the night of error obscures this providential truth, then ‘there is no room for others either, for children, for the poor, for the stranger,’” he added, quoting Pope Benedict XIV’s homily at Christmas Mass on Dec. 24, 2012. “These words of Pope Benedict XVI remain a timely reminder that on earth, there is no room for God if there is no room for the human person,” the pontiff said. Leo celebrated the Christmas Mass, also known as Midnight Mass, for a packed Vatican basilica at 10 p.m. The Vatican said an estimated 6,000 people were inside the basilica for the Mass, while another 5,000 people followed the papal Mass via jumbo screens in St. Peter’s Square. In a surprise before the Mass, the pope stepped outside St. Peter’s Basilica to greet those who were forced to stay in the rainy square, because there was no more room inside. “The basilica of St. Peter’s is very large, but unfortunately it is not large enough to receive all of you,” Leo said, thanking everyone for their presence, wishing them a merry Christmas, and bestowing his apostolic blessing. Just now: Pope Leo surprised and blessed the crowd that could not get into St. Peter’s Basilica for tonight’s Christmas Eve Mass. “The basilica of St. Peter is very large, but unfortunately, it is not large enough to receive all of you. Tante grazie per venire qui questa sera.” pic.twitter.com/vMK1Zmibl8 — EWTN Vatican (@EWTNVatican) December 24, 2025 The preparatory readings and the sung Proclamation of the Birth of Christ — also called the Kalenda Proclamation — preceded the Mass. The pontiff removed a cloth to reveal a wooden sculpture of the Christ Child, placed in front of the main altar of the basilica, after the chanting of the Kalenda Proclamation. A group of 10 children dressed in traditional clothing from different parts of the world brought flowers to the figure of Baby Jesus. In his homily, the pope recalled that, “for millennia, across the earth, peoples have gazed up at the sky” attempting to read the future in the stars. Yet, they remained lost and in the dark, he said. “On this night, however, ‘the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light’ (Isaiah 9:2).” “Born in the night is the One who redeems us from the night,” Leo said. “The hint of the dawning day is no longer to be sought in the distant reaches of the cosmos, but by bending low, in the stable nearby. Pope Leo invited Christians to marvel at the wisdom of Christmas, through which “God gives the world a new life: his own, offered for all.” “He does not give us a clever solution to every problem, but a love story that draws us in. In response to the expectations of peoples, he sends a child to be a word of hope. In the face of the suffering of the poor, he sends one who is defenseless to be the strength to rise again. Before violence and oppression, he kindles a gentle light that illumines with salvation all the children of this world,” he said. The pontiff quoted a sermon of St. Augustine, who said, “human pride weighed you down so heavily that only divine humility could raise you up again.” “While a distorted economy leads us to treat human beings as mere merchandise, God becomes like us, revealing the infinite dignity of every person,” Leo said. “While humanity seeks to become ‘god’ in order to dominate others, God chooses to become man in order to free us from every form of slavery. Will this love be enough to change our history?”

Christmas reversed in Slovakia: Why the homeless gave this archbishop a gift

Christmas reversed in Slovakia: Why the homeless gave this archbishop a gift

Archbishop Bernard Bober of Košice celebrates Mass with homeless and people in need at the Archdiocesan Charity in Košice, Slovakia, during a traditional Christmas gathering in December 2025. / Credit: Archdiocesan Charity of Košice EWTN News, Dec 24, 2025 / 17:00 pm (CNA). Archbishop Bernard Bober of Košice, Slovakia, found a special gift under the Christmas tree. It was a new “cathedra,” a wooden bench prepared by homeless people in a charity workshop. Benches are also associated with people living on the margins of society. The traditional Christmas gathering began with a Mass inside one of the buildings of the Archdiocesan Charity in Košice, the second-largest city in Slovakia. After the Mass, the prelate, who also serves as president of the Slovak Bishops’ Conference, joined those in need for goulash and other seasonal meals. “Christmas is not just about the Nativity scene,” Bober said, but mainly about people — getting together, acceptance, and mutual closeness. “It is precisely people who have a difficult fate… who need to feel at this time that they are not alone, that they are accepted, and that they have their place among us,” he said. The wooden bench presented to Archbishop Bernard Bober in December 2025. Credit: Archdiocesan Charity of Košice Such gatherings have a strong human dimension and help release tension, build trust, and enter the new year with hope, according to a press release the Archdiocesan Charity sent to CNA. The bench was made in a charity workshop where those in need gain and improve manual skills, helping them enter the job market. Besides the bench, they gave the archbishop flowers, handmade decorations, ikebana, and soap. The gifts were also given to mark his recent 75th birthday on Nov. 3. “We do not want these holidays to be just a nice tradition, but a call to responsibility, too,” the Archdiocesan Charity of Košice said. The organization invites public officials to such events so they can see the reality facing the homeless and “feel greater sensitivity when deciding on solutions that can ensure a more dignified life for them.” The birthday celebration was another gift for Bober, who reached canonical retirement age. In early November, his birthday coincided with a local Jubilee of Young People in Košice. In front of the Cathedral of St. Elizabeth, approximately 25,000 people greeted the prelate and enjoyed a concert by the Godzone evangelization band and a party led by Portuguese priest and DJ Father Guilherme Peixoto. Pope Leo XIV sent a video message to the participants, calling them to be “witnesses of communion, builders of bridges, and sowers of trust in a world often marked by division and suspicion.” “Jesus calls you... to live the Gospel with enthusiasm and to share the joy that springs from encountering the Lord,” the pope said. “Bring the light of Christ into your families, schools, universities, workplaces, and communities.”