On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis appeals for courage to improve the world

By Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis said the story of Jesus’ birth as a poor carpenter’s son should inspire hope that all people can make an impact on the world, as the pontiff led the world’s Roman Catholics into Christmas on Tuesday.

Francis, celebrating the 12th Christmas of his pontificate, presided over a solemn Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and opened the Catholic Holy Year 2025, which the Vatican expects will bring some 32 million tourists to Rome next year.

In a homily focusing on the virtue of hope, which is also the theme of the Holy Year, the Pope said that hope “is a call not to hesitate, to be held back by our old habits or to wallow in mediocrity or laziness”.

“Hope calls us … to be sad about things that are wrong and find the courage to change them,” he said.

A Catholic Holy Year, also known as a Jubilee Year, is considered a time of peace, forgiveness and forgiveness. They usually occur every 25 years. Pilgrims who come to Rome during the year can receive special indulgences or forgiveness for their sins. This anniversary runs through January 6, 2026.

At the beginning of Tuesday’s ceremony, Francis presided over the opening of a special bronze-clad “Holy Door” at St. Peter’s Basilica, which is only open during jubilee years. The Vatican expects up to 100,000 pilgrims to walk through the door every day next year.

At the papal Mass before an estimated 6,000 people in St. Peter’s Basilica and 25,000 more watching on screens in the square outside, the pope also repeated an earlier call for developed nations to use the anniversary to reduce the debt burden faced by low-income countries. .

“The Jubilee calls us to spiritual renewal and commits us to transform our world,” the Pope said. “A time of jubilee for the poorer countries weighed down by unjust debt; a time of jubilee for all those enslaved by old and new forms of slavery.”

A call for outright debt forgiveness made by the late Pope John Paul II in the Jubilee Year of 2000 sparked a campaign that resulted in $130 billion in debt forgiveness between 2000 and 2015.

Francis, who turned 88 this month, has been suffering from what the Vatican has described as a cold. He appeared in good form on Tuesday night, although his voice was a little raspy.

On Wednesday, the Pope will deliver his Christmas Day “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message and blessing.

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Barbara Lewis)