Pope Leo has urged Christians to let the Christmas story remind them of their duty to help the poor and strangers.
In his Christmas Eve sermon at St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope explained that Jesus being born in a stable because there was no room at an inn illustrates that refusing to help those in need is equivalent to rejecting God himself.
Highlighting care for immigrants and the poor as central themes of his early papacy, Leo emphasized that Jesus’ birth demonstrates God’s presence in every person as he led the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics into Christmas.
“On earth, there is no room for God if there is no room for the human person. To refuse one is to refuse the other,” the pope said during the solemn service attended by about 6,000 people inside the basilica.
Celebrating his first Christmas as pope after being elected in May to succeed the late Pope Francis, Leo, the first US-born pontiff, referenced Pope Benedict XVI, lamenting the world’s neglect of children, the poor, and foreigners.
“While a distorted economy leads us to treat human beings as mere merchandise, God becomes like us, revealing the infinite dignity of every person,” he said. “Where there is room for the human person, there is room for God. Even a stable can become more sacred than a temple.”
Outside the basilica, around 5,000 people watched the service on screens in St. Peter’s Square, braving heavy rain with umbrellas and ponchos. Pope Leo personally greeted them before the mass, saying, “I admire and respect and thank you for your courage and your wanting to be here this evening, even in this weather.”
On Christmas Day, the pope will celebrate a mass and deliver the twice-yearly Urbi et Orbi message and blessing to the city and the world.
