Reflecting on the Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, popes throughout history have offered Christmas messages that renew hope even amidst suffering and hardship.
Pius XII and the Holocaust
During World War II, a particularly dark period for European Jews, Pope Pius XII delivered a radio message on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1942. The message, described by The New York Times as a “lonely voice” crying out across a silent continent, expressed hope that “the star shining over the grotto of Bethlehem” would bring comfort to “suffering humanity” amid the horrors of war.
Pope Pacelli also denounced the tragedy of the “final solution,” a term used by the Nazis to describe their plan for the systematic extermination of Jews. He spoke of “hundreds of thousands of people, who, through no fault of their own, sometimes only because of their nationality or ancestry, are destined to die or to suffer progressive deterioration.”
John XXIII and Children’s Suffering
On Christmas Day 1958, Pope John XXIII visited the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, becoming the first Pope to do so. He greeted and blessed the young patients, and when a child named Emanuele shared his name with the Pope, John XXIII remarked that it meant “God with us,” encapsulating the solemnity of the day.
Paul VI and the Struggles of Workers
In 1968, amid social tensions in Italy’s labor sector, Pope Paul VI celebrated Christmas Mass among workers at a steelworks in Taranto. L’Osservatore Romano described the steelworks as “the new stable of the technological age.”
In his homily, Pope Paul addressed the workers, urging them to look to “the Christ of the Gospel.” He acknowledged a disconnect between the world of work and the Church, questioning whether there was a “common language” between them and if work and religion had become “two separate, detached, and often even opposing things.”
John Paul II and the Third Millennium
Pope John Paul II marked humanity’s transition into the third millennium by opening the Holy Door on December 24, 1999. He described the moment as the beginning of the Great Jubilee, and emphasized that no one should be excluded from the Father’s embrace.
Benedict XVI, Migrants, and Welcoming God
Pope Benedict XVI, during Christmas Mass on December 24, 2012, posed a question about migrants and the willingness to welcome others, drawing a parallel to the story of Mary and Joseph finding no room at the inn. He asked if there would be room for God if He sought shelter at our doors, and urged prayers to create space in hearts for the Lord and to recognize Him in those most in need.
Francis and Bringing Hope to the Marginalized
Pope Francis, during Mass on the solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord in 2024, called on Christians to bring hope to those who have lost it, to the brokenhearted, and to those affected by war and violence. He emphasized that Jesus was born among misery and on the peripheries of society.
Leo XIV and Christmas as a Celebration of Light
As Christmas approaches, Pope Leo XIV will preside at Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. Bishop Robert Prevost, in a message published on the Diocese of Callao’s YouTube channel during the pandemic in 2020, emphasized that Christmas is always “a feast of light on earth,” even in times of darkness.
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