Vatican City: Seven months after the start of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Christmas as the Bishop of Rome, marking the season with a clear and consistent message of peace, prayer and hope for the world.
In his first Christmas greetings card as Pope, prepared by the Prefecture of the Papal Household, he highlighted one of the central themes of his ministry with the words “The Christmas of the Lord is the Christmas of Peace.” The quotation is taken from Sermon 26 of Saint Leo the Great, the first Pope to bear the name Leo. The card was accompanied by a mosaic created in 1955 by Italian artist Alberto Salietti for the papal apartment.
Ahead of Christmas, on December 23, Pope Leo spoke to journalists outside Villa Barberini in Castel Gandolfo, renewing his appeal for peace across the world. He asked people of goodwill to respect at least one full day of peace on the feast of the birth of Christ, repeating the appeal he first made when he appeared on the central loggia of Saint Peter’s Basilica shortly after his election.
Pope began the Christmas celebrations by presiding over the Midnight Mass for the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord on December 24 at 10.00 pm in Saint Peter’s Basilica. During the procession to the nativity scene, ten children from South Korea, India, Mozambique, Paraguay, Poland and Ukraine accompanied the Pope, carrying flowers as a sign of peace and unity among nations.
On Christmas Day, December 25, Pope Leo celebrated Mass again in Saint Peter’s Basilica at 10.00 am. With this liturgy, he restored the celebration of Christmas Day Mass by the Pope, a tradition not observed by his immediate predecessors. The last time a Pope celebrated this Mass was Saint John Paul II in 1994. Later in the day, Pope Leo delivered the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing from the central loggia of the Basilica, offering his prayers to the city of Rome and to the whole world.
The Christmas celebrations continued on December 26, the feast of Saint Stephen, with the Angelus prayer in Saint Peter’s Square, and again on Sunday, December 28.
On December 31, Pope held a general audience in the morning, an event that had not taken place on New Year’s Eve for five decades. Later in the afternoon, he presided over First Vespers and the Te Deum in thanksgiving for the year that had passed.
The Christmas season will continue into early January. On January 1, 2026, the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, Pope Leo will celebrate Mass for the 59th World Day of Peace and lead the Angelus prayer at noon. He will also recite the Angelus on Sunday, January 4.
On January 6, the Solemnity of the Epiphany, Pope will preside over Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica, followed by the closing of the Holy Door, marking the conclusion of the 2025 Jubilee. The season will conclude on January 11, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, when Pope Leo will celebrate Mass in the Sistine Chapel and baptize several children.
Through these celebrations, Pope Leo XIV’s first Christmas as Pope has been marked by a steady call for peace, reminding the world that the birth of Christ continues to offer hope, reconciliation and light in troubled times.