Pope calls for a ceasefire on all fronts in a prayer ahead of Christmas

This photo taken and handout on December 22, 2024 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis during the Angelus prayer in The Vatican.| Photo by Handout / VATICAN MEDIA / AFP

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

“Let the weapons fall silent and let the Christmas carols ring out!” Francis said, delivering his Sunday blessing from indoors due to a cold and as a precaution ahead of a busy Christmas period.

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“Let us pray that at Christmas there will be a ceasefire on all war fronts, in Ukraine, in the Holy Land, throughout the Middle East and throughout the world,” the pope said.

Francis recalled, as he often does, the “battered Ukraine” that continues to be hit by attacks on cities, “which sometimes damage schools, hospitals and churches.”

He also expressed his pain thinking of Gaza, “of such cruelty, to the machine-gunning of children, to the bombing of schools and hospitals … How much cruelty!”

Francis on Saturday also criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza and said that his envoy had been unable to enter the territory because of Israeli bombing. Israeli authorities on Sunday allowed Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the leader of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, to enter Gaza and celebrate a pre-Christmas Mass with members of the territory’s small Christian community.

Israel says it has made great efforts to spare civilians and is only at war with Hamas, which it accuses of genocidal violence in the attack that ignited the war.

The pontiff, who turned 88 this past week, appeared in good shape on Sunday, after looking wheezing and congested during his annual Christmas greeting to Vatican bureaucrats on Saturday.

The Vatican cited the cold temperatures outside and Francis’ strenuous week ahead in deciding to deliver his Sunday blessing indoors.

The pope on Tuesday is due to inaugurate his big Holy Year and preside over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations in St. Peter’s Basilica. On Thursday, he is scheduled to travel to Rome’s main prison to inaugurate the Jubilee there.

Francis has long suffered bouts of bronchitis, especially in winter. In 2023, he ended up in hospital to receive intravenous antibiotics. He had part of one lung removed as a young man and frequently seems out of breath, especially after walking or exerting himself.