The pontiff's "Urbi et Orbi" — "To the City and the World" — address serves as a summary of the woes facing the world this year.
As Christmas coincided with the start of the 2025 Holy Year celebration that he dedicated to hope, Francis called for broad reconciliation, "even (with) our enemies."
"I invite every individual, and all people of all nations ... to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the sounds of arms and overcome divisions," the pope said from the loggia of St Peter's Basilica to throngs of people below.
The pope invoked the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica, which he opened on Christmas Eve to launch the 2025 jubilee, as representing God's mercy, which "unties every knot; it tears down every wall of division; it dispels hatred and the spirit of revenge".
He called for arms to be silenced in war-torn Ukraine and the Middle East, singling out Christian communities in Israel and the Palestinian territories, "particularly in Gaza where the humanitarian situation is extremely grave," as well as Lebanon and Syria "at this most delicate time".
Francis repeated his calls for the release of hostages taken from Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
He cited a deadly outbreak of measles in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the suffering of the people of Myanmar, forced to flee their homes by "the ongoing clash of arms".
This Christmas, at the beginning of the Jubilee Year, I invite every individual, and all peoples and nations, to find the courage needed to walk through that Door, to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the sound of arms and overcome divisions! — Pope Francis (@Pontifex) #Christmas #Jubilee2025December 25, 2024
The pope likewise reflected on children suffering from war and hunger, the elderly living in solitude, those fleeing their homelands, who have lost their jobs, and are persecuted for their faith.
Pilgrims were lined up on Christmas Day to walk through the great Holy Door at the entrance of St Peter's Basilica, as the jubilee is expected to bring some 32 million Catholic faithful to Rome.
Traversing the Holy Door is one way that the faithful can obtain indulgences, or forgiveness for sins during a jubilee, a once-every-quarter-century tradition that dates from 1300.
Pilgrims submitted to security controls before entering the Holy Door, amid new security fears following a deadly Christmas market attack in Germany.
Many paused to touch the door as they passed and made the sign of the cross upon entering the basilica dedicated to St Peter, the founder of the Roman Catholic Church.
"You feel so humble when you go through the door that once you go through is almost like a release, a release of emotions," said Blanca Martin, a pilgrim from San Diego.
"It's almost like a release of emotions, you feel like now you are able to let go and put everything in the hands of God. See I am getting emotional. It's just a beautiful experience."
