Pope Leo XIV celebrated the first Christmas Eve Mass of his pontificate on Tuesday evening, beginning at 10:00 p.m. Rome time in St. Peter’s Basilica, delivering a theologically rich homily centered on the mystery of Divine light revealed not through power, but through the vulnerability of the Christ Child.

“For millennia, across the earth, peoples have gazed up at the sky, giving names to the silent stars,” the Pope said at the start of his homily. He noted that humanity has long sought meaning, attempting “to read the future in the heavens, seeking on high for a truth that was absent below amidst their homes,” yet remaining “lost, confounded by their own oracles.”

Against that backdrop, Pope Leo proclaimed the radical novelty of Christmas. 

“On this night, however, ‘the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined,’” he said, quoting the prophet Isaiah.

That light, the Pontiff stressed, is not abstract or distant, but personal and historical. 

“Behold the star that astonishes the world, a spark newly lit and blazing with life: ‘To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord,’” he said, citing the Gospel of Luke.

“Into time and space – in our midst – comes the One without whom we would not exist,” Pope Leo continued. “He who gives his life for us lives among us, illuminating the night with his light of salvation. There is no darkness that this star does not illumine, for by its light all humanity beholds the dawn of a new and eternal life.”

At the center of the Christmas mystery, Pope Leo said, stands not human strength but divine humility. 

“Born in the night is the One who redeems us from the night,” he said. “The hint of the dawning day is no longer to be sought in the distant reaches of the cosmos, but by bending low, in the stable nearby.” 

He noted how the Child Jesus is found in the manger, continuing, “To find the Savior, one must not gaze upward, but look below. The omnipotence of God shines forth in the powerlessness of a newborn; the eloquence of the eternal Word resounds in an infant’s first cry; the holiness of the Spirit gleams in that small body, freshly washed and wrapped in swaddling clothes.”

Reflecting on the moral and social implications of Christmas, the Pope contrasted God’s actions with humanity’s tendencies toward domination. 

“While humanity seeks to become ‘god’ in order to dominate others,” he said, “God chooses to become man in order to free us from every form of slavery.”

Quoting Saint Augustine, he observed: “‘Human pride weighed you down so heavily that only divine humility could raise you up again.’”

As the Jubilee Year comes to an end, Pope Leo framed Christmas as both thanksgiving and mission. Recalling the late Pope Francis’ words from last year’s Midnight Mass, he cited the call to bring hope “wherever hope has been lost,” because “with him, joy flourishes; with him, life changes; with him, hope does not disappoint.”

“Christmas becomes for us a time of gratitude and mission,” Pope Leo said, urging the faithful to bear witness publicly to the salvation they have received. Quoting Psalm 96, he concluded: “‘Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all the peoples.’”

In his final exhortation, the Pope called on the Church to proclaim Christmas with renewed confidence. 

“It is a feast of faith, because God becomes man,” he said. “It is a feast of charity, because the gift of the redeeming Son is realized in fraternal self-giving. It is a feast of hope, because the Child Jesus kindles it within us, making us messengers of peace.”

Greeting the pilgrims

Before entering the basilica to celebrate Mass, Pope Leo surprised and blessed the crowd that could not get into St. Peter’s Basilica for the Christmas Eve Mass. 

"The Basilica of Saint Peter's is very large, but unfortunately it is not large enough to receive all of you," he said. "I admire and respect and thank you for your courage and your wanting to be here this evening." He wished everyone a merry Christmas and gave them a blessing.