Opening the Holy Doors of St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve, Pope Francis inaugurates a jubilee year expected to draw 32 million visitors to Rome.

Pope Francis will mark Christmas Eve on Tuesday with a special ceremony launching Jubilee 2025, a year of Catholic celebrations set to draw more than 30 million pilgrims to Rome. And traditions have evolved since the first such event back in 1300,

Pope Francis has called for a ceasefire on all war fronts in his Sunday prayer ahead of Christmas celebrations, condemning the “cruelty” of bombing schools and hospitals in Ukraine and Gaza.

Pope Francis emphasized that “no child is ever a mistake” during his last Angelus address before Christmas Day.

Francis urged the Vatican inner circle to bless more and talk less badly of others. It wasn’t the first time he had used the occasion to scold them.