Pope Leo XIV will celebrate his first Christmas as pontiff by getting a long-standing Vatican tradition back, announcing that Christmas Day Mass will once again be held on December 25 in St. Peter’s Basilica.
The practice has not been observed since 1994, during the pontificate of St. John Paul II.
The Christmas celebrations will begin on the evening of December 24, when Pope Leo XIV will preside over Christmas Eve Mass at 10 p.m. local time in St. Peter’s Basilica.
This marks a return to a later schedule after the Mass was moved to earlier hours in recent years, first during the COVID-19 pandemic and earlier under Pope Benedict XVI.
On Christmas Day, December 25, the pope will celebrate Mass at 10 a.m. in the Vatican basilica. At noon, he will deliver the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing (“to the city and the world”) from the central balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
The liturgical calendar will continue on December 31, when Pope Leo XIV will preside over First Vespers and the Te Deum at 5 p.m. in thanksgiving for the year ending.
On January 1, 2026, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and the 59th World Day of Peace, he will celebrate Mass at 10 a.m.
The theme of the World Day of Peace message, titled “Peace Be with You All: Towards an Unarmed and Disarming Peace,” emphasizes rejecting fear, violence, and weapons in favor of trust, empathy, and hope.
A major moment of the Christmas season will occur on Jan. 6, the solemnity of the Epiphany, when Pope Leo XIV will close the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica at 9:30 a.m. and celebrate the closing Mass of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025.
In the days leading up to the event, the Holy Doors of the other papal basilicas, St. Mary Major, St. John Lateran, and St. Paul Outside the Walls, will also be closed.
This will mark only the second time in history that a jubilee year is closed by a different pope than the one who opened it, a situation previously seen in 1700.
The Christmas season will conclude on January 11, the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. On that day, the pope will celebrate Mass and baptize several children of Vatican employees in the Sistine Chapel, continuing a tradition begun by St. John Paul II.
Meanwhile, the Vatican has already entered the Christmas spirit. On Dec. 15, the Christmas tree and Nativity scene were inaugurated in St. Peter’s Square.
A Nativity display titled “Nacimiento Gaudium” in the Paul VI Audience Hall has drawn attention for its pro-life symbolism, depicting the Virgin Mary as pregnant until December 25 and featuring thousands of ribbons honoring children saved from abortion and messages from hospitalized children.
Following Christmas, Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to travel to Castel Gandolfo on December 26 for a short period of rest.
He will return to Rome in early January to preside over key liturgical celebrations and, on January 7–8, convene the world’s cardinals for his first ordinary consistory since his election.
The schedule highlights a pontificate that is combining restored tradition with contemporary pastoral themes as Pope Leo XIV begins his ministry at the Vatican.
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