On the 24th December at 7:00 p.m., the Mass of Christmas Eve was celebrated, which began with the opening of the Holy Door of the Jubilee of Hope 2025. This Jubilee coincides with the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, which helped to preserve the unity of the Church. At that council the Creed was unanimously approved, which we still recite today in the Sunday Mass.
The Holy Father, in his homily, recalling the angel's announcement to the shepherds, said: "Between the amazement of the poor and the song of the angels, heaven opens up on earth: God became one of us to make us become like Him, he descended among us to raise us up and bring us back into the Father's embrace". The Pope also invited us to rediscover the joy of the encounter with the Lord, that joy that leads to active hope, especially in areas of conflict and suffering.
"Brothers and Sisters, on this night it is for you that the Holy Door of God's heart is opened. Jesus, God-with-us, is born for you, for me, for us, for every man and every woman. and - you know? - with Him joy flourishes, with Him life changes, with Him hope does not disappoint": with these words Pope Francis concluded his homily.
The theme of the Jubilee Year 2025 is "Hope does not disappoint", announced by the Holy Father on the 9th May 2024 with the Bull of Convocation, in which he recalled St. Paul's invitation "Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, persevering in prayer". In the same Bull, the Pope urged us to live the Holy Year as an opportunity for synodality, making all the baptized co-responsible, according to their charisms and ministries, to witness together to God's presence in the world.
Read the Pope's homily
Read the Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025
