Pope Leo XIV surprised the rain-soaked faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday night with an apology, delivered in both English and Italian, to those who were unable to get inside the basilica for the American-born pontiff’s first Christmas Eve Mass.
“Welcome!” he said in English, greeting the thousands who were packed into the square. “Basilica of St. Peter’s is very large, but unfortunately it is not large enough to receive all of you. I admire and respect and thank you for your courage and your wanting to be here this evening.” Then, in Italian, he continued: “Despite the weather, we want to celebrate the Christmas feast together.” “Merry Christmas to all of you!” he said, before adding, still in Italian, “Please follow the celebration on the screen.”
The celebration lasted almost two and a half hours and ended with a traditional homily from the Chicago native, who turned 70 in September. In a nine-minute address, Leo retold the story of Jesus Christ’s birth and his significance to the world while indirectly addressing global crises. In the most pointed section, Leo criticized the globalized economy and alluded to the world’s many military conflicts.
“While a distorted economy leads us to treat human beings as mere merchandise, “ he said, “God becomes like us, revealing the infinite dignity of every person.
“While humanity seeks to become God in order to dominate others, God chooses to become man in order to free us from every form of slavery.”
He also addressed the legacies of his two immediate predecessors, Pope Francis, who died in April, and Pope Benedict XVI, who led the Roman Catholic Church from 2005 until 2013. Their papacies engendered controversy, with Benedict emphasizing church tradition and Francis attempting to liberalize its institutions and teachings.
Leo started with Benedict, whose words, he said, “remain a timely reminder that on Earth there is no room for God if there is no room for the human person, to refuse one is to refuse the other.
“Yet where there is room for the human person, there is room for God. Even a stable can become more sacred than a temple, and the womb of the Virgin Mary become the ark of a new covenant.” Quoting from Benedict’s Christmas Mass in 2012, Leo added that Christians must care “for children, for the poor, for the stranger.” Turning to Francis, Leo recalled the late pope’s Christmas homily from last year, when Francis said that the Nativity “rekindles in us the gift and task of bringing hope wherever hope has been lost because with him joy flourishes, with him life changes, with him hope does not disappoint.”
He used those words to also bring to mind the needs of the poor and hungry. “The need for care and warmth becomes divine, since the son of the Father shares in history with all his brothers and sisters,” Leo said. “The divine light radiating from this child helps us recognize humanity in every new life.
Leo ended on a hopeful note. “Let us therefor announce the joy of Christmas, which is a feast of faith, charity and hope.”
“With these virtues in our hearts,” he added, “unafraid of the night, we can go forth to meet the dawn of a new day.”
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