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During his Christmas Holy Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica on December 25, 2025, Pope Leo XIV, in a departure from his usual diplomatic approach, directly addressed global conflicts and humanitarian crises. He decried the conditions for Palestinians in Gaza, highlighting their vulnerability. The Pope lamented the plight of migrants, refugees and the homeless globally. He also appealed for an end to wars, specifically mentioning Ukraine, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Sudan. The pope urged dialogue and peace, particularly for Ukraine, and a restoration of friendship between Thailand and Cambodia. This marked his first Christmas sermon since becoming pope.
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Item 1 of 5 Pope Leo XIV celebrates Christmas Holy Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, December 25, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
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“How, then, can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold?” he asked.
In a later Christmas blessing, the pope, who has made care for immigrants a key theme of his early papacy, also lamented the situation for migrants and refugees who “traverse the American continent”.
LEO DECRIES ‘RUBBLE AND OPEN WOUNDS’ OF WAR
In Thursday’s service with thousands in St. Peter’s Basilica, Leo also lamented conditions for the homeless across the globe and the destruction caused by war more generally.
“Fragile is the flesh of defenceless populations, tried by so many wars, ongoing or concluded, leaving behind rubble and open wounds,” said the pope.
“Fragile are the minds and lives of young people forced to take up arms, who on the front lines feel the senselessness of what is asked of them and the falsehoods that fill the pompous speeches of those who send them to their deaths,” he said.
POPE LAMENTS CONFLICTS IN UKRAINE, THAILAND AND CAMBODIA
In an appeal on Thursday during the “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message and blessing given by the pope at Christmas and Easter, Leo called for an end to all global wars.
Speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to thousands of people in the square below, he lamented conflicts, political, social or military, in Ukraine, Sudan, Mali, Myanmar, and Thailand and Cambodia, among others.
“May the clamour of weapons cease, and may the parties involved, with the support and commitment of the international community, find the courage to engage in sincere, direct and respectful dialogue,” said the pope.
Reporting by Joshua McElwee
Editing by Peter Graff
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