On the morning of the Solemnity of Christmas, this Monday, December 25, Pope Francis gave the traditional blessing “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city of Rome and to the world) and delivered his message from the central balcony of the Basilica of Saint Peter, in which he especially asked for the end of wars around the world.
Below is the full message from Pope Francis:
Dear brothers and sisters: Merry Christmas!
The eyes and hearts of Christians around the world are directed towards Bethlehem. There, where pain and silence reign these days, he resounded the announcement expected for centuries: “A Savior has been born to you, who is the Messiah, the Lord” (Lk 2:11). These were the words of the angel in the sky of Bethlehem and today they also address us. It fills us with confidence and hope to know that the Lord was born for us; that the eternal Word of the Father, the infinite God, made his dwelling place among us; that he became flesh, came “and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). This is the news that changes the course of history!
The announcement of Bethlehem is “a great joy” (Lk 2:10). What joy? It is not the fleeting happiness of the world, nor the joy of fun, but a “great” joy, because it makes us “great.” Today, in fact, we human beings, with our limits, embrace the certainty of an unprecedented hope, that of having been born for heaven. Yes, Jesus our brother came to make his Father our Father. Being a fragile Child, he reveals to us the tenderness of God; and much more: He, the Only Begotten of the Father, gives us the “power to become children of God” (Jn 1:12). This is the joy that comforts the heart, that renews hope and gives peace; It is the joy of the Holy Spirit, the joy of being beloved children.
Brothers and sisters, in the midst of the darkness of the earth, today in Bethlehem an inextinguishable flame has been lit; Today, in the midst of the darkness of the world, today the light of God prevails, which “enlightens every man” (Jn 1:9). Brothers, sisters, let us rejoice in this grace! Rejoice, you who have lost confidence and certainties, because you are not alone, you are not alone: Christ was born for you! Rejoice, you who have abandoned hope, because God extends his hand to you; He does not point his finger at you, but he offers you the little hand of his Child to free you from your fears, to relieve you of your fatigue and to show you that in his eyes you are valuable like no other.
Rejoice, you who do not find peace in your heart, because for you the ancient prophecy of Isaiah has been fulfilled: “A child has been born to us, a son has been given to us […] and his name is given: […] Prince of Peace” (9,5). With Him, in the scripture, you see His peace and His Kingdom will have no end.
In Scripture, the Prince of peace is opposed by “the Prince of this world” (Jn 12:31) who, sowing death, acts against the Lord, “who loves life” (Wis 11:26). We see it at work in Bethlehem when, after the birth of the Savior, the slaughter of the innocents takes place. How many massacres of innocent people in the world: in the womb, on the routes of the desperate who seek hope, in the lives of so many children whose childhood is devastated by war. They are the little Jesuses of today. These children whose childhood is distributed by wars.
So, saying “yes” to the Prince of Peace means saying “no” to war, and this with courage, to every war, to the very logic of war, a journey without a goal, a defeat without winners, a madness without excuses. But to say “no” to war it is necessary to say “no” to weapons. For if the man, whose heart is unstable and wounded, finds instruments of death in his hands, sooner or later he will use them. And how can we talk about peace if the production, sale and trade of weapons increase? Today, as in the time of Herod, evil intrigues, which oppose divine light, move in the shadow of hypocrisy and concealment. How many massacres due to weapons occur in a deafening silence, hidden from everyone! People, who do not want weapons but bread, who find it difficult to move forward and ask for peace, do not know how much public funds are allocated to weapons. And yet they should know! Let this be talked about, let this be written about, so that the interests and benefits that pull the strings of wars are known.
Isaiah, prophesying to the Prince of Peace, wrote of a day when “one nation will not lift up a sword against another”; of a day in which men “will no longer train for war,” but “will forge plowshares with their swords and spears with their spears” (2:4). With God’s help, let’s get to work so that day comes.
May it arrive in Israel and Palestine, where war shakes the lives of those populations; I embrace both, in particular the Christian communities of Gaza, the parish of Gaza, and the entire Holy Land. I carry in my heart the pain for the victims of the execrable attack of last October 7 and I renew an urgent call for the release of those who are still held hostage.
I plead that military operations, with their dramatic consequences of innocent civilian casualties, cease and that the desperate humanitarian situation be remedied by allowing the arrival of aid. That violence and hatred do not continue to be fueled, but that a solution to the Palestinian question be found, through sincere and persevering dialogue between the parties, supported by strong political will and the support of the international community. Brothers, sisters, let us pray for peace in Palestine and Israel.
My thoughts also go to the population of martyred Syria, as well as to that of Yemen, who continue to suffer. I think of the beloved Lebanese people and pray that they can soon regain political and social stability.
With my eyes fixed on the Child Jesus I implore peace for Ukraine. Let us renew our spiritual and human closeness to his martyred people, so that through the support of each one of us they may feel God’s love in reality.
May the day of definitive peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan come. May it be favored by the continuation of humanitarian initiatives, the return of displaced people to their homes in a legal and safe manner, and mutual respect for the religious traditions and places of worship of each community.
Let us not forget the tensions and conflicts that disturb the regions of the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and Sudan, as well as Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan. May the day come when fraternal ties on the Korean Peninsula are consolidated, opening avenues of dialogue and reconciliation that can create the conditions for lasting peace. May the Son of God, who became a humble Child, inspire the political authorities and all people of good will on the American continent to find suitable solutions that lead to overcoming social and political dissension, to fight against the forms of poverty that offend the dignity of people, to resolve inequalities and to confront the painful phenomenon of migration.
From the manger, the Child asks us to be the voice of those who have no voice: voice of the innocent, dead for lack of water and bread; voice of those who cannot find work or have lost one; voice of those who are forced to flee their own homeland in search of a better future, risking their lives on exhausting trips and at the mercy of unscrupulous traffickers.
Brothers and sisters, the time of grace and hope of the Jubilee is approaching, which will begin in a year. May this period of preparation be an occasion to convert the heart; to say “no” to war and “yes” to peace; a time to respond with joy to the invitation of the Lord who calls us, as Isaiah had prophesied, “to bring the good news to the poor, / to bind up wounded hearts, / to proclaim liberation to the captives / and freedom to the prisoners” ( Is 61,1).
These words were fulfilled in Jesus (cf. Luke 4:18), born today in Bethlehem. Let us welcome Him, let us open our hearts to Him, the Savior, let us open our hearts to Him the Savior, who is the Prince of peace.