The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, celebrated his first midnight Christmas Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, telling Christians that the story of Christmas should remind them of their duty to help the poor and strangers.
In his sermon, the pope said that the story of Jesus being born in a stable because there was no room in the inn shows followers that refusing to help those in need is tantamount to rejecting God himself.
Pope Leo XIV, who has chosen care for immigrants and the poor as his main themes since taking office as the leader of the world's 1,4 billion Catholics, said that the birth of Jesus shows the presence of God in every person, reports the Guardian.
"There is no place for God on earth if there is no place for the human being. To reject one is to reject the other," the pope said during a mass attended by about 6.000 faithful in St. Peter's Basilica.
Leo XIV, the first pope from the United States, is celebrating his first Christmas since being elected by cardinals in May to succeed the late Pope Francis. He criticized US President Donald Trump's negative stance on immigrants and quoted Pope Benedict XVI's words that the world does not care enough about children, the poor or foreigners.
"Where there is no place for the human being, there is no place for God. Even a stable can become holier than a temple," said Pope Leo XIV.
Outside the basilica, about 5.000 worshippers watched the service on large screens in St. Peter's Square, holding umbrellas and wrapped in raincoats in heavy rain in Rome.
Pope Leo XIV emerged from St. Peter's Basilica to greet them before the start of Mass. "I admire and respect you, I thank you for your courage and desire to be here tonight even in this weather," the pope said.
Today, on Christmas Day according to the Gregorian calendar, the Pope will celebrate Mass and deliver the traditional Christmas "Message to the City and the World" (Urbi et Orbi).
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