Pope Leo XIV is expected to renew his calls for peace on Monday as he delivers his first Christmas blessing from St. Peter’s Basilica, closing a year overshadowed by war but punctuated by fragile hopes for a truce in Gaza. The “Urbi et Orbi” message, scheduled for 11 a.m. Irish time, traditionally surveys global conflicts and urges reconciliation. The pontiff’s appeal for a one-day worldwide cease-fire went unheeded in Ukraine, where fighting continued.
On Christmas Eve, Leo celebrated his first Christmas Mass, calling the feast a celebration of “faith, charity and hope.” Addressing a packed basilica, he offered a simple acknowledgment of the crowds pressing to witness the moment. “St Peter’s is very large but unfortunately it is not large enough to receive all of you,” he said to the roughly 5,000 in attendance. The pope is also set to hold another Mass on Christmas Day, renewing a tradition dating to the late Pope John Paul II.
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In Bethlehem, where the Church of the Nativity marks the site many Christians believe Jesus was born, the city celebrated its first festive Christmas in more than two years as the occupied West Bank emerged from the shadow of the Gaza war. Parades, musicians and families filled Star Street and Manger Square on Christmas Eve under a canopy of multicolored lights, while a towering tree glittered beside the fourth-century basilica.
The pews at the Church of the Nativity were filled long before midnight; many worshippers stood or sat on the floor during the traditional mass. At 11:15 p.m., organ music signaled a procession of dozens of clergy, followed by Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who blessed the congregation with the sign of the cross. In his homily, he urged peace, hope and rebirth, saying the Nativity story still speaks into the turbulence of the present day.
Pizzaballa described a recent visit to Gaza, where he said “suffering is still present” despite the cease-fire. “The wounds are deep, yet I have to say, here too, there too, their proclamation of Christmas resounds,” he said. “When I met them, I was struck by their strength and desire to start over.”
On Bethlehem’s narrow streets, the mood was buoyant. “Today is full of joy because we haven’t been able to celebrate because of the war,” said 17-year-old Milagros Anstas, as men dressed as Santa Claus sold toffee apples and toys and families posed in front of a nativity scene framed by a giant star. Local resident George Hanna, from nearby Beit Jala, said the return of public festivities was essential: “We need to get the message to the whole world and this is the only way.”
Elsewhere in the region, Damascus’s Old City glowed with Christmas lights despite lingering fears after a deadly attack in June. Red baubles hung from trees, shopkeepers dressed their windows and street vendors roasted chestnuts. “Syria deserves joy and for us to be happy, and to hope for a new future,” said Loris Aasaf, a 20-year-old student.
Globally, the season’s messages were mixed. In the United States, President Donald Trump posted a combative holiday greeting online, wishing a Merry Christmas “to everyone, including the radical left-wing scum,” a reference to Democrats—an unusually sharp contrast to the conciliatory tone from religious leaders. Severe weather disrupted celebrations on the West Coast, where California authorities declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and ordered evacuations amid flooding threats.
In Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese struck a somber note after the deadly attack during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14. “After the terror inflicted on Jewish Australia celebrating Hanukkah and Bondi Beach, we feel the weight of sorrow in our hearts,” he said.
As Leo XIV steps to the central balcony of St. Peter’s to bless the city and the world, the tableau of Christmas 2024 remains stark: rites of renewal and public joy in Bethlehem and Damascus, grief and defiance amid conflict zones, and a pope pressing for a pause in wars that did not stop for the holiday. Whether those pleas can translate into political will is the unresolved question carried into the new year.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
