In his Christmas Day Urbi et Orbi (Visit an external site. The link opens in a new tab.) message, Pope Leo XIV spoke to the City, i.e. Rome, and the World about peace, dialogue and responsibility. He began by saying that we should all rejoice in the Lord, “for our Savior has been born in the world. Today, true peace has come down to us from heaven”.
Pope Leo also quoted his predecessor, Saint Leo the Great, who was pope in the middle of the 5th century, reminding us that “the Lord’s birth is the birth of peace”.
Christ is our peace, the Pope said. “He has conquered hatred and enmity through God’s merciful love.”
However, Leo XIV pointed out that without a heart freed from sin, a heart that has been forgiven, we cannot be men and women of peace or builders of peace.
Pope Leo prayed for justice and peace in Ukraine, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and Syria. He also said he remembers in a special way the people of Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as those who suffer due to injustice, political instability, religious persecution and terrorism.
The full text of the Pope’s Urbi et Orbi -greeting is available in English on the Vatican website (Visit an external site. The link opens in a new tab.).