He used his traditional message to call on the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics to negotiate a just peace in Ukraine, as the country was branded “inhumane” by the Christmas morning barrage of 170 Russian missiles and drones in Kiev.
His voice breathless, the 88-year-old pontiff also appealed for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages held there by Hamas.
“I think of the Christian communities in Israel and Palestine, especially in Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is extremely dire,” he told thousands gathered in front of St. Peter’s Basilica for an “Urbi et Orbi” (“For the city and the world”) address.
“Let there be a cease-fire, let the hostages be released, and aid be given to the people weary of hunger and war.”
Francis also called for peace in Sudan, which has been ravaged by 20 months of brutal civil war and where millions are at risk of starvation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky protested Russia’s efforts to take out his country’s damaged power grid after the 13th major attack on the system this year that killed an energy worker.
“Putin deliberately chose Christmas to attack,” he said. “What could be more inhuman? More than 70 missiles, including ballistic missiles, and more than 100 attack drones.”
Ukraine has been celebrating Christmas on December 25 rather than January 7, when most Orthodox believers celebrate as a snub to Moscow.
Russia says five people were killed in an overnight Ukrainian attack on its territory, including one by a drone shot down in North Ossetia in the Caucasus.
‘Limited Joy’ in Bethlehem
============================
The day was also tragic when an Azerbaijan Airlines flight from Baku to the Chechen capital of Grozny with 67 passengers on board crashed in western Kazakhstan. Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbev said that 38 people died.
Christmas was also celebrated in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, the biblical birthplace of Jesus.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the Palestinian city has removed its giant Christmas tree and elaborate decorations that usually attract crowds of tourists.
“This year we limited our joy,” Bethlehem Mayor Anton Salman told AFP.
The Latin Patriarch, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, told a small crowd there on Tuesday that he had just returned from Gaza, where he “saw everything destroyed, poverty, disaster”.
“But I’ve also seen life – they don’t give up. So you shouldn’t either. Never.”
In Manger Square in the heart of Bethlehem, a group of scouts organized a parade to break the silence.
“We want life, not death,” read the banners they carried, “Stop the Gaza massacre now!” including messages.
– Gaza and Syria –
==================
About 1,100 Christians live in Gaza, with hundreds gathering at a church there to pray for an end to the war, as Hamas and Israel accuse each other of delaying finalizing a cease-fire and hostage-release deal.
“This Christmas carries the stench of death and destruction,” said George al-Saigh, who had to take refuge for weeks in the 12th-century Greek Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrius in Gaza City.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, hundreds of people took to the streets in Christian areas of Damascus to protest the burning of a Christmas tree in a Syrian city two weeks after Islamist-led rebels ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
“If we’re not allowed to live our Christian faith in our country, like we used to, then we’re not here,” said one protester who gave his name as George.
‘Peace on Earth’
====================
Celebrating his last Christmas in the White House, US President Joe Biden said at X: “My hope for our nation, today and forever, is that we continue to search for the light of freedom and love, kindness and compassion, dignity and decency.”
In a separate post, Biden also marked the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, saying “the power of faith is the light of the Jewish people.”
President-elect Donald Trump meanwhile fired three dozen posts, blasted “radical left lunatics,” hailed himself as “Patriot of the Year” and announced his pick for ambassador to Panama.
In Germany, Christmas was a terrifying affair for many families after a deadly market attack, prompting President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to issue a message of healing.
“Hate and violence should not be the last word,” he said.
In Britain, King Charles III, head of state, used his annual Christmas message to thank doctors who helped him and his daughter-in-law, Princess Catherine, in their battle against cancer.
He also called for “peace on earth” and an end to conflict around the world.
In Buenos Aires, nearly three thousand people were fed at a Christmas solidarity dinner for the homeless at a time when more than half of Argentina’s population is affected by poverty.
And in Paris, worshipers gathered at Notre Dame Cathedral for the first Christmas Mass since it reopened after a 2019 fire.