Pope Francis laments ‘icy winds of war’ around humanity in Christmas message
- He also cited long-running conflicts in the Middle East, prayed for a lasting truce in Yemen and for reconciliation in Iran and Myanmar
- Francis urged the faithful to remember the millions of Ukrainians who were without electricity or heating on Sunday, and millions more displaced
At noon in Rome, Francis delivered the traditional Urbi et Orbi (Latin for “‘to the city and to the world”) speech from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.
On a sunny day, with the midday temperature reaching about 15 degrees Celsius, warm for a Roman winter, some 70,000 tourists, pilgrims and residents of the city packed St Peter’s Square to listen to the pontiff and to receive his blessing.
He lamented that on Christmas, the “path of peace” is blocked by social forces that include “attachment to power and money, pride, hypocrisy, falsehood”.
“Indeed, we must acknowledge with sorrow that, even as the Prince of Peace is given to us, the icy winds of war continue to buffet humanity,” Francis said.
“If we want it to be Christmas, the birth of Jesus and of peace, let us look to Bethlehem and contemplate the face of the child who is born for us,” he said. “And in that small and innocent face, let us see the faces of all those children who, everywhere in the world, long for peace.”