Pope Leo XIV has urged Christians that the Christmas story should remind them of their duty to help the poor and strangers within heir society.
During his Christmas Eve sermon, Pope Leo said the story of Jesus being born in a stable because there was no room at an inn showed followers that refusing to help those in need was tantamount to rejecting God himself.
Leo, who has made care for immigrants and the poor key themes of his early papacy, said Jesus’ birth showed God’s presence in every person as he led the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics into Christmas at a mass in St Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Leo, the first US-born Pope, is celebrating his first Christmas after being elected in May by the world’s cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis. The pope, who has criticized US President Donald Trump’s divisive immigration crackdown, quoted a line from Pope Benedict XVI lamenting that the world does not care for children, the poor or foreigners.
Speaking outside the Major Basilica, over 5,000 people watched the service on screens from St Peter’s Square, holding umbrellas and wearing ponchos under a hard rain in Rome.
Leo, 70, came outside to greet them before the start of the mass service.
Merry Christmas to you all.
