Pope Leo XIV delivered his Christmas blessing ‘Urbi et Orbi’ for the first time in St. Peter’s Square in which he made an appeal to the peace in the world and responsibility, while urging political leaders to “work for reconciliation.”
Despite the cloudy sky, thousands of people packed St. Peter’s Square in Rome, some 26,000 according to official figures released by Vatican News, to witness the Christmas blessing.
The Pope has called for world peace and has analyzed the situation in the Middle East, Ukraine, Latin America, Myanmar, Sudan, Haiti and other regions affected by conflict, violence and natural disasters, while asking political leaders and the international community to work for reconciliation, dialogue and justice.
Photo: AFP
has urged pray for the “suffering Ukrainian people” so that “the roar of weapons is extinguished and that the parties involved, supported by the commitment of the international community, find the courage to engage in an honest, direct and respectful dialogue.”
Leo XIV extended his wishes for peace to other areas in crisis, such as Sudan, Haiti and Myanmar and urged the political leaders of Latin America to “give space to dialogue for the good of all, and no to ideological and partisan prejudices“.
Finally he emphasized “Christ’s identification with those who suffer: the poor, the migrants, refugees“It reminds us that opening our hearts to them is to open it to Jesus himself, who invites us to share his peace and love,” he told the thousands of people gathered.
In his Christmas message, he also quoted a few lines on the theme of peace from a poem by the German-Israeli poet Jehuda Amichai (1924-2000). It was the first time that a Pope referred to a Hebrew poet in an ‘Urbi et Orbi’ blessing.
