Where to watch services on Christmas Eve 2024

On By Littum

For many, going to church on Christmas Eve is a sacred tradition to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. And in 2024, you can be transported to Vatican City to watch a beautiful Christmas Eve Mass led by Pope Francis on NBC.

Read on for everything you need to know to watch Christmas Eve services on TV in 2024.

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Where can you watch Christmas Eve services on TV in 2024?

NBC News will air a special midnight mass broadcast from St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Christmas Eve. You can watch the services led by Pope Francis on Tuesday 24 December from 11:30 PM ET to 1 a.m. ET on NBC.

While you need it reserve tickets up to six months in advance to attend the Pope’s Christmas Eve mass in person, you will be able to watch the services and avoid crowds from your home.

There will also be an English translation voiceover; in 2023Father Manuel Dorantes of St. Mary of the Lake-Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Chicago provided the English commentary for viewers at home.

Throughout the Mass, you will hear music by the Sistine Chapel Choir, which has traditionally opened the services with “Noel.”

In addition to the mass itself, you will also see the Vatican’s magnificent Christmas tree in front of St. Peter’s Basilica. Like the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, the evergreen on display in St. Peter’s Square is decorated with thousands of LED lights, as well as ornaments and other decorations. The tree has been a tradition since 1982, started by Pope John Paul II, “as a symbolic sign signifying ‘Christ is evergreen,'” according to The Vatican.

It’s a wonderful life airs on NBC Christmas Eve

Before Christmas Eve mass you can see It’s a wonderful life Tuesday 24 December at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. The film, starring Jimmy Stewart, ends at 11 p.m., just before midnight services begin at 11:30 PM ET.

Released in 1946 and directed by Frank Capra, It’s a wonderful life tells the story of a guardian angel sent from heaven to help George Bailey, a frustrated businessman, realize what life would have been like if he had never existed.

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The classic holiday movie line-up continues on Christmas Day. You can watch Jim Carrey’s 2000 version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas Wednesday 25 December at 8:30 PM ET on NBC. You can also stream the original 1966 TV movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and 2018’s animated The Grinch on Peacock at any time.