Coverage dated December 23, 2025 to December 24, 2025
Pope Leo XIV remembers Gaza's suffering in first Christmas homily and calls for peace
Headline from WHEC Rochester
Pope Leo XIV, during his first Christmas Day homily, has remembered the people of Gaza exposed to harsh weather. He emphasized that the world's conflicts can only be silenced through dialogue. Leo led the Christmas Day Mass from St. Peter’s Basilica, adorned with floral garlands and poinsettias.
WHEC Rochester's own description from its feed. We collect headlines and these descriptions, not full articles; read the original reporting below.
Pope Leo XIV made an appeal for "one full day of peace throughout the world" in a Christmas address outside Castel Gandolfo in Rome — and criticized Russia for refusing a holiday cease-fire.
Pope Leo XIV, during his first Christmas Day homily, has remembered the people of Gaza exposed to harsh weather. He emphasized that the world's conflicts can only be silenced through dialogue. Leo led the Christmas Day Mass from St. Peter’s Basilica, adorned with floral garlands and poinsettias.
On Christmas day, Pope Leo XIV issued an appeal on behalf of refugees and the displaced, including in Gaza, saying the peace offered to the world at Jesus’s birth is found in showing solidarity with others.
By Christopher Lamb, CNN Rome (CNN) — Pope Leo XIV celebrated the first Christmas since his election by denouncing the suffering of people of Gaza – taking shelter in tents from the “rain, wind and cold” – and by calling for the guns to fall silent in Ukraine.
American-born Pope Leo XIV used his first Christmas Day message to call for an end to hostilities in global conflict zones during an address in front of tens of thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square in Rome.
Pope Leo XIV celebrated the first Christmas since his election by denouncing the suffering of people of Gaza – taking shelter in tents from the “rain, wind and cold” – and by calling for the guns to fall silent in Ukraine.
Pope Leo XIV has called for a Christmas Day truce in ongoing conflicts around the world, and spoken out against the passage of an assisted suicide law in his home state of Illinois.
By Joshua McElweeVATICAN CITY, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Pope Leo decried conditions for Palestinians in Gaza in his Christmas sermon on Thursday, in an unusually direct appeal during what is normally a solemn, spiritual service on the day Christians across the globe celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Pope Leo XIV on Thursday urged Russia and Ukraine to find the "courage" to hold direct talks and spoke of the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza in his first Christmas message.The US pope, who was elected by fellow cardinals in May after the death of his predecessor pope Francis, also condemned the…
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV during his first Christmas Day homily on Thursday remembered the people of Gaza “exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold” and
In his first Christmas homily, Pope Leo lamented conditions for Palestinians in Gaza and urged Ukraine and Russia to engage in direct talks to end their wr.
