Pope Francis held his first Christmas Eve mass in the Vatican on Tuesday by highlighting the role played by humble shepherds in the Nativity, as thousands flocked to the historic site of Jesus's birth in Bethlehem.
At the service in St Peter's Basilica, the 77-year-old leader of the world's Catholics said local shepherds were the first to witness the holy birth "because they were among the last, the outcast".
The Argentine pope, who was elected this year after his predecessor Benedict XVI's momentous resignation, also called on Catholic believers to open their hearts and struggle against the "spirit of darkness".
"If our heart is closed, if we are dominated by pride, deceit, self-seeking, then darkness falls within us," said Francis, who has shaken up the papacy with his humble style and has promised to reform the Vatican.
Francis has repeatedly warned about rising rates of anti-Christian violence, and he spoke at a time when Christians from ancient communities in Syria are fleeing its civil war. Others are meanwhile struggling to rebuild after the devastating typhoon that struck the Philippines this year.
In Europe, Christmas Eve mass in a church nestled in the French Alps came to an abrupt end Tuesday when part of the ceiling fell down on the priest's head. The discovery of an unexploded World War II bomb in the Belgian city of Ghent also spoiled celebrations.
