Pope Leo XIV condemned the “senselessness” of war and the “open wounds” it leaves behind as he delivered his first Christmas message on Thursday, after a year marked by conflict but also hopes for peace in Gaza and Ukraine.
In Bethlehem, the Christian community celebrated its first festive Christmas in more than two years as the occupied West Bank city emerged from the shadow of the war in Gaza.
Pope Leo, elected in May following the death of his predecessor Pope Francis, spoke of Gaza during a mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, saying, “How… can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold.”
“Fragile is the flesh of defenceless populations, tried by so many wars, ongoing or concluded, leaving behind rubble and open wounds,” the pope said.
Heavy rains have battered Gaza in recent days, compounding the harsh conditions for residents, nearly all of whom were displaced during the war.
The UN has said that an estimated 1.3 million people currently need shelter assistance in Gaza and has warned of an increasing risk of hypothermia as temperatures dip.
“The war, in all its forms, has been harsh on everyone living on this land,” Elias al-Jalda, a Palestinian Christian from Gaza, told AFP after attending a Christmas mass at Gaza’s only Roman Catholic church on Wednesday.
“We hope this year will mark the beginning of a new phase—one defined by a complete end to the war and the return of life to Gaza,” he added.
Rami al-Far, another attendee, said: “Our celebrations are very limited. We try to live as best we can with what we have.”
Joy in Bethlehem
Hundreds of worshippers also gathered for mass at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on Wednesday night as the Palestinian city marked its first festive Christmas during the Gaza war.
Throughout the conflict that began with Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023, a sombre tone had marked Christmases in the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ.
But celebrations returned Wednesday with parades and music in the West Bank city, as a fragile truce held in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people face winter in makeshift tents.
With pews of the Church of the Nativity filled long before midnight, many worshippers stood or sat on the floor for the traditional mass to usher in Christmas Day.