Pope Leo XIV to Mark His First ‘Christmas of Peace’ at the Vatican

Vatican City, December 24 — Seven months into his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV is preparing to celebrate his first Christmas as Pope, beginning with the Midnight Mass for the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord at 10.00 pm on December 24 in St. Peter’s Basilica.

In his first Christmas greetings, issued through the traditional card prepared by the Prefecture of the Papal Household, the Pope underscores a key theme of his magisterium: peace. “The Christmas of the Lord is the Christmas of Peace,” he writes, quoting Sermon 26 of St. Leo the Great, the first Pope to bear the name Leo. The card features a mosaic created in 1955 for the papal apartment by Italian artist Alberto Salietti (1892–1961).

On December 23, responding to journalists outside Villa Barberini in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo renewed his appeal to people of goodwill to observe “at least on the feast of the birth of the Saviour, one day of peace”. He also recalled the “unarmed and disarming” peace he invoked when he first appeared on the Central Loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica on May 8, shortly after his election.

The Christmas liturgies will continue on December 25, when the Pope celebrates Mass at 10.00 am in St. Peter’s Basilica. In a notable decision, he has reintroduced the Christmas Day Mass, which Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XIV did not celebrate. The last Pope to do so was St. John Paul II in 1994. Later that day, Pope Leo will deliver the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing from the Central Loggia.

On December 26, the feast of St. Stephen, the Pope will recite the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, repeating the prayer on Sunday, December 28. He will hold a general audience on December 31, a New Year’s Eve event last held 50 years ago in 1975 by Pope St. Paul VI, followed by First Vespers and the Te Deum at 5.00 pm.

Looking ahead, Pope Leo will celebrate Mass on January 1, 2026, the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, for the 59th World Day of Peace, with the Angelus at noon. On January 6, the Solemnity of the Epiphany, he will preside over Mass and close the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, marking the end of the 2025 Jubilee. The Christmas season will conclude on January 11 with Mass and the baptism of several children in the Sistine Chapel.

Pope Leo XIV to Mark His First ‘Christmas of Peace’ at the Vatican

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