Christmas Eve Mass, Pope Francis Calls for Courage to Change the World

December 25, 2024 | 02:48 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Pope Francis said the story of Jesus’ birth as the son of a poor carpenter should instill hope that everyone can make an impact on the world. He made the comments as he led Roman Catholics around the world in Christmas celebrations on Tuesday night.

Pope Francis, celebrating the 12th Christmas of his papacy, led a solemn Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and opened the 2025 Catholic Holy Year, which the Vatican estimates will bring some 32 million tourists to Rome next year.

In a homily focused on the virtue of hope, which is also the theme of the Holy Year, the pope said hope “is a call not to linger, to follow our old habits, or to wallow in mediocrity or laziness.”

“Hope calls us… to be disappointed by the things that are wrong and to find the courage to change them,” he said.

The Catholic Holy Year, also known as the Jubilee, is considered a time of peace and forgiveness. It usually occurs every 25 years. Pilgrims who come to Rome throughout the year can obtain special indulgences, or forgiveness of sins. This Jubilee year will last until Jan. 6, 2026.

At the start of Christmas Eve Mass, Pope Francis oversaw the opening of a special bronze-paneled “Holy Door” in St. Peter’s Basilica, which is only open during the Jubilee year. The Vatican estimates that up to 100,000 pilgrims will enter the door each day next year.

At the papal Mass attended by about 6,000 people in St. Peter’s Basilica and another 25,000 watching on screens in the square outside, the pope also repeated his previous call for developed nations to use the celebration to ease the debt burden faced by low-income countries.

“This Jubilee calls us to spiritual renewal and commitment to the transformation of our world,” the pope said. “It is a Jubilee for the poor countries burdened with unjust debt; a Jubilee for all those who are bound by forms of slavery, old and new.”

The late Pope John Paul II’s call for immediate debt cancellation in the Jubilee Year of 2000 sparked a campaign that resulted in the cancellation of $130 billion in debt between 2000 and 2015.

Pope Francis, who turns 88 this month, was suffering from a cold when he celebrated Mass. He appeared in good spirits Tuesday night, though his voice was a little hoarse. At Christmas Mass on Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, the pope will deliver his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) Christmas message and blessing.

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