Pope Leo XIV Delivers Christmas Message from St. Peter’s, Emphasizing Hope

(VATICAN CITY) — Pope Leo XIV delivered his Christmas Message and Urbi et Orbi blessing on December 25, 2025, from the Central Loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, urging Catholics to live Christmas as a feast of faith, charity, and hope.

The setting and broadcast

Speaking from the balcony above St. Peter’s Square, Leo called on the faithful to announce Christmas joy amid global challenges. The setting — the Central Loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica — is closely associated with papal blessings and provided the visual frame for the Vatican News broadcast.

Vatican News carried the full message live as the Pope’s Christmas Message and “Urbi et Orbi” blessing. The broadcast:

• Lasted 46 minutes and 57 seconds.
• Drew 9,000 views within hours, according to Vatican News.
• Was made available afterward through Vatican News channels so viewers could watch the address in full.

Broadcast details (summary)

Themes and message

Leo framed Christmas as a moment meant to be lived and shared through faith, charity, and hope. Vatican communications and the Vatican News presentation emphasized these themes repeatedly:

• Christmas as a feast of faith, charity, and hope.
• A call to announce Christmas joy even when the world faces difficulties.
• Tying Christmas to commitments that extend beyond a single day on the calendar.

Vatican News presented the message and blessing in full, underscoring the Pope’s sustained focus on these themes throughout the address.

“I wholeheartedly wish you all a holy Christmas. May the Lord bring us his light and grant peace to the world.”
— Pope Leo XIV, seasonal greeting to the Roman Curia, December 22, 2025

Connection to the December 22 greeting

The Christmas message followed Leo’s earlier seasonal greeting to the Roman Curia on December 22. In that exchange, he offered a brief wish tied directly to Christmas and peace, linking the themes of light and peace to the later Christmas address.

• The December 22 greeting introduced the line about light and peace, which the Pope later developed in the December 25 message.
• Vatican News noted the continuity between the short December 22 wish and the fuller Christmas appeal.

Presentation and emphasis

Vatican News aired the full message and blessing continuously, from the opening of the address through the conclusion of the blessing. The broadcast’s complete carriage reinforced that the emphasis on joy, faith, charity, and hope was central and sustained — not a passing remark.

Key presentation points:

• The Urbi et Orbi blessing is traditionally attached to the Pope’s most widely followed Christmas address, attracting attention well beyond Vatican City.
• Vatican communications described the broadcast as centered on Christmas joy as a feast to be proclaimed and shared, rather than confined to private observance.
• The Pope’s appeal was presented as a direct call to the faithful to hold to joy amid global challenges.

Availability and reception

Within hours of the live transmission, Vatican News reported 9,000 views, indicating early attention to the live coverage and subsequent replay. Videos of the Pope’s address were made available through Vatican News channels for later viewing.

Takeaway

Pope Leo XIV’s Christmas Message and Urbi et Orbi blessing, delivered from the Central Loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica on December 25, 2025, was broadcast live in full and later posted for replay. The consistent lines across his December 22 and December 25 remarks—invoking light, peace, faith, charity, and hope—formed the central thread of his appeal for the faithful to proclaim Christmas joy amid global difficulties.