Story highlights
The Pope urges faithful to cast aside hatred
He leads his first Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican
"God is light and in him there is no darkness at all," the Pope says
The Pope preached Tuesday evening on love, forgiveness and facing life with bravery and with God’s help.
“To us the Lord repeats, ‘Do not be afraid.’ … And I, too, repeat, do not be afraid,’” Francis said.
“Our Father is patient. He loves us, he gives us Jesus to guide us on the way which leads to the promised land. Jesus is the light who brightened the darkness. Our Father forgives always. He is our peace and light.”
He called on the throngs gathered at St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday to cast aside hatred.
“If we love God and our brothers and sisters, we walk in the light. But if our heart is closed, if we are dominated by pride, deceit, self-seeking, then darkness falls within us, and around us.”
Before the Mass, pilgrims gathering in Vatican City told CNN they were excited to celebrate with the Pope.
Nine months into his papacy, much has been made of the Pope’s reforms, among them more scrutiny at the Vatican bank, changes to the church’s bureaucratic structure, and a commission to deal with the abuse of minors.
And while this year’s Christmas liturgy remains the same, experts say we should expect the unexpected.
“He tends to be a surprise, because he does things that are normal, but are very abnormal in terms of the papacy,” O’Connell said. “He brought three homeless men into where he is living to have breakfast with him on his birthday. … I suspect we will see something else again over the Christmas period.”
The festivities began on Saturday, with the Pope’s Christmas message to the Curia. He urged the church’s governing body to avoid gossip and to focus on service.
And then he practiced what he preached, spending three hours at a local hospital bringing Christmas cheer to sick children.
There were a record number of requests to attend this year’s Christmas Eve Mass.
On Christmas Day, tens of thousands of pilgrims are expected to flood St. Peter’s Square to hear his message to the world.
“People are listening to him, because he’s speaking in a language that’s not Vaticanese,” O’Connell said. “He’s speaking the language of ordinary people.”