Month: December 2024

ROME (CNS) – Wearing red vestments for the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, Pope Francis knocked on the door of the church in Rome’s Rebibbia prison complex and walked over its threshold.

After reciting a formal prayer before opening the prison’s Holy Door Dec. 26, the pope took the microphone back to explain that he had inaugurated the Holy Year 2025 by opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.

“I wanted the second Holy Door to be the one here, at a prison,” he said. “I wanted all of us, inside or out, to have an opportunity to throw open the doors of our hearts and understand that hope does not disappoint.”

Members of the penitentiary police band played the official hymn of the Holy Year 2025 when the pope arrived, while about 300 people waited inside the church; they included just over 100 women and men serving time at Rebibbia, some of their family members, volunteers, prison staff, Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri and officials of the Italian justice department.

The door of the prison’s Church of Our Father was decorated with a pine garland with white roses and silver-tinted pinecones. Inside the church, a manger with the baby Jesus sat in front of the altar. The inmates, with the help of volunteers, provided the music while a prisoner and a female guard did the readings.

The prayers of the faithful included a petition for governments to focus on rehabilitating and assisting all people, especially those who have made mistakes.

Seated in his wheelchair in front of the church door, Pope Francis had prayed: “In the joy of Christmas, let us welcome the call of the Lord Jesus to follow him. He is the door of life, the hope that does not disappoint, the good news that saves.”

“May the opening of this Holy Door be for all of us a call to look to the future with hope,” he said. “Let us open our hearts to the mercy of God so as to celebrate with the whole church his unending love.”

The Vatican press office had distributed the text of the homily the pope prepared for the Mass, but the pope did not use it.

Instead, Pope Francis spoke directly to the inmates. He told them that all Christians need to remind themselves that “hope does not disappoint, it never disappoints. I need to think about this, too, because in life’s difficult moments one thinks that everything is over, that nothing can be resolved. But hope never disappoints.”

“I like to think of hope being like an anchor on the shore, and we, holding the rope, are there, safe because our hope is like an anchor” hooked into the earth. “This is the message I want to give all of us, including myself: Don’t lose hope.”

At the end of Mass, before greeting and shaking hands with each of the 300 people present inside the church, Pope Francis repeated his message. He told inmates, “Now, don’t forget the two things we need to do with our hands: First, hang on to the rope of hope, hang on to the anchor by its rope, never let go; second, throw open your hearts, have an open heart.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – As millions of pilgrims prepare to cross through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis called on individuals, nations and the global community to take a transformative step toward peace and reconciliation by walking through the “door of salvation” that is Jesus Christ.

“Jesus is the door of peace,” he said from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica Dec. 25. “This Christmas, at the beginning of the Jubilee Year, I invite every individual, and all peoples and nations, to find the courage needed to walk through that door, to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the sound of arms and overcome divisions!”

Prior to offering his blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world), the pope prayed for various countries grappling with conflict and crisis.

Although there was a strong wind, the Roman sun shined brightly on the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray with the pope.

In his Christmas message, Pope Francis called for an end to hostilities in Ukraine, praying for “the boldness needed to open the door to negotiation and to gestures of dialogue and encounter, in order to achieve a just and lasting peace.” Several Ukrainian flags were visible among the throngs of faithful.

Speaking while seated, the pope then prayed for peace in the Middle East, asking that “the doors of dialogue and peace be flung open throughout the region.”

“In contemplating the crib of Bethlehem, I think of the Christian communities in Israel and Palestine, particularly in Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is extremely grave,” he said. “May there be a ceasefire, may the hostages be released and aid be given to the people worn out by hunger and by war.”

The pope also highlighted the plight of Christians in Lebanon and Syria “at this most delicate time.” Just over two weeks after the fall of the Assad regime, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Damascus Dec. 24 to protest against anti-Christian sentiment following the burning of a Christmas tree in central Syria.

With the Holy Door standing open beneath him in the basilica, Pope Francis pleaded that the Jubilee be an occasion for global forgiveness, especially for alleviating the financial burdens of the world’s poorest nations.

Cardinal Silvano Tomasi, a retired papal diplomat who negotiated debt-relief agreements for the world’s poorest countries, stood alongside the pope as he delivered his message from the balcony of the basilica.

Low- and middle-income countries owed a record debt of $8.8 trillion at the end of 2023 — an 8% increase over 2020 — according to data from the World Bank, and developing countries spent a record $1.4 trillion to service their foreign debt in that year.

“Each of us is called to forgive those who have trespassed against us, because the Son of God, born in the cold and darkness of the night, has forgiven our own,” the pope said in his Christmas message.

Pope Francis prayed for communities affected by a measles outbreak in Congo, and for those suffering from the humanitarian crises in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Mozambique “caused mainly by armed conflicts and the scourge of terrorism” and “aggravated by the devastating effects of climate change.”

In the Americas, he asked that Jesus would inspire political authorities and all people “to find as soon as possible effective solutions, in justice and truth, to promote social harmony, particularly in Haiti, Venezuela, Colombia and Nicaragua.”

“On this festive day, let us not fail to express our gratitude to those who spend themselves, quietly and faithfully, in doing good and in serving others,” he added, commending parents, educators, teachers, health care workers, charity workers and missionaries for their contribution to society.

Jesus, Pope Francis said in his message, “is the wide-open door that we are invited to enter, in order to rediscover the meaning of our existence and the sacredness of all life, and to recover the foundational values of the human family.”

He prayed that society’s most vulnerable members — children, the elderly, refugees, the unemployed, prisoners and persecuted people — may meet God at the threshold of that door.

“As pilgrims of hope, let us go out to meet him,” he said. “Let us open to him the doors of our hearts, as he has opened to us the door of his heart.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Celebrating Christmas Mass after opening the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis said the birth of Jesus fills Christians with hope and the courage to work for peace and justice.

“This is our hope: God is Emmanuel, God-with-us,” he said at the Mass Dec. 24 in St. Peter’s Basilica with an overflow crowd. On a windy winter night, thousands of people were sitting in St. Peter’s Square watching the liturgy on video screens.

“The infinitely great has made himself tiny; divine light has shone amid the darkness of our world; the glory of heaven has appeared on earth — how? — as a little child,” the pope said. “If God can visit us, even when our hearts seem like a lowly manger, we can truly say: Hope is not dead; hope is alive, and it embraces our lives forever! Hope does not disappoint.”

The “Christmas Mass at Night,” often referred to as “midnight Mass,” has not been celebrated at midnight at the Vatican since 2009. Pope Francis began the liturgy at about 7:30 p.m. after opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.

The Vatican press office said 6,000 people were inside and, as the pope opened the Holy Door, some 25,000 people were in the square. Dozens of priests went outside to distribute Communion to them during the Mass.

At the beginning of Mass, 10 children, who were among the first pilgrims to cross the threshold of the Holy Door, placed flowers around a figurine of Jesus that rested in front of the basilica’s main altar.

Pope Francis chose “Pilgrims of Hope” as the theme for the Holy Year, which the Catholic Church celebrates every 25 years as a special time of pilgrimage, conversion and renewal of faith.

Adding to his prepared text, the pope told people, “There is much desolation in the world right now. Think of the wars, of the children gunned down, of the bombs falling on schools and hospitals,” references that he has applied to both Russia’s war on Ukraine and Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Hope is not indifferent but requires courage, he said. It means not being afraid to “speak out against evil and the injustices perpetrated at the expense of the poor.”

Christian hope, “while inviting us to wait patiently for the kingdom to grow and spread,” he said, “also requires of us, even now, to be bold in our anticipation of the fulfilment of the Lord’s promise, to be responsible and not only, but to be compassionate.”

“Tonight, God speaks to each of us and says: there is hope also for you,” the pope said in his homily. To receive that gift of hope, all that is needed is to set out, like the shepherds of Bethlehem did, to meet Jesus.

“For Christians hope is not a ‘happy ending’ which we passively await — it’s not the happy ending of a film — but rather, a promise, the Lord’s promise, to be welcomed here and now in our world of suffering and sighs,” Pope Francis said.

The offer of hope requires a response, he said. God asks people not to “wallow in mediocrity or laziness,” but to notice when things are wrong and try to change them.

“Hope calls us to become pilgrims in search of truth, dreamers who never tire, women and men open to being challenged by God’s dream, which is the dream of a new world where peace and justice reign,” Pope Francis said.

The Holy Year, he said, “calls us to spiritual renewal and commits us to the transformation of our world, so that this year may truly become a time of jubilation: A jubilee for our mother Earth, disfigured by profiteering; a time of jubilee for the poorer countries burdened beneath unfair debts; a time of jubilee for all those who are in bondage to forms of slavery old and new.”

As Christians, the pope said, “all of us have received the gift and task of bringing hope wherever hope has been lost, lives broken, promises unkept, dreams shattered and hearts overwhelmed by adversity.”

“We are called to bring hope to the weary who have no strength to carry on, the lonely oppressed by the bitterness of failure, and all those who are broken-hearted,” the pope said. In addition, Christians are called “to bring hope to the interminable, dreary days of prisoners, to the cold and dismal lodgings of the poor, and to all those places desecrated by war and violence.”

At the end of Mass, escorted by children, Pope Francis carried the figurine of the baby Jesus in his lap while an aide pushed him in his wheelchair toward the Nativity scene at the back of the basilica so it could be placed in the manger.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – In the quiet of Christmas Eve, Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, launching what he called a “Jubilee of Hope.”

As the doors opened, the bells of the basilica began to peal.

After the reading of a brief passage from the Gospel of John in which Jesus describes himself as “the door,” Pope Francis briefly left the atrium of the basilica, creating some confusion. But when the cardinals in the front row sat down, the others did likewise.

Three minutes later, the pope returned. He was pushed in his wheelchair up the ramp to the Holy Door. In silence, he raised himself from the chair to knock five times, and aides inside slowly opened the door, which had been framed in a garland of green pine branches, decorated with red roses and gold pinecones.

Opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica has been a fixture of the Catholic Church’s celebration of jubilee years since the Holy Year 1450, the Vatican said.

Pope Francis chose “Pilgrims of Hope” as the theme for the Holy Year 2025, which began Dec. 24 and will run through Jan. 6, 2026.

The rite of opening the decorated bronze door began inside the basilica with the reading in different languages of biblical passages prophesying the birth of the savior “who brings his kingdom of peace into our world,” as the lector explained.

Then, to emphasize how the birth of Jesus “proclaims the dawn of hope in our world,” the Gospel of St. Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus was proclaimed.

Introduced with a blare of trumpets, the choir sang, “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.”

“The steps we now take are the steps of the whole church, a pilgrim in the world and a witness of peace,” the pope told the assembled cardinals, bishops, ecumenical guests and lay faithful in the atrium of the basilica.

“Holding fast to Christ, the rock of our salvation, enlightened by his word and renewed by his grace,” the pope continued, “may we cross the threshold of this holy temple and so enter into a season of mercy and forgiveness in which every man and woman may encounter and embrace the path of hope, which does not disappoint.”

Echoing the biblical jubilee themes of reconciliation and forgiveness, Pope Francis prayed that the Holy Spirit would soften hardened hearts so that “enemies may speak to each other again, adversaries may join hands and people seek to meet together.”

“Grant that the church may bear faithful witness to your love and may shine forth as a vital sign of the blessed hope of your kingdom,” he prayed.

Normally the Holy Door, to the right of the basilica’s center doors, remains sealed with bricks, a symbolic reminder of the barrier of sin between people and God. The 16 panels on the bronze doors illustrate key moments in salvation history, including the fall of Adam and Eve, the annunciation of Jesus’ birth, Christ presented as the shepherd rescuing a lost sheep, the crucifixion and the risen Jesus appearing to the disciples.

Ten children from 10 different countries, holding hands with their parents, crossed the threshold after the pope and the altar servers, but before the cardinals and bishops. Then 54 people from 27 nations — including the United States and Canada, Australia, Tanzania and Togo, Venezuela and Vietnam — passed through. Many of them wore the traditional dress of their nations or ethnic groups.

Neither the Vatican press office nor the Jubilee press office released the names of the pilgrims or explained how they were chosen.

Also among the first to cross the threshold were representatives of other Christian churches. The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity said in an explanatory note, “Entering through the Holy Door expresses the willingness to follow and be guided by the only begotten Son of God.”

Especially during the year that will see the celebration of the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which solemnly defined the basics of Christian faith, the ritual “is a manifestation of the faith that all Christians share in Jesus, the Eternal Word made man,” the note said.

However, it added, the ecumenical guests’ participation “must not be interpreted as an attempt to associate them with elements of the jubilee, such as the jubilee indulgence, which are not in line with the practices of their respective communities.”

In fact, the “selling” of indulgences helped spark the Protestant Reformation; the practice was later banned by the Council of Trent.

The Catholic Church believes that Christ and the saints have accumulated a treasure of merits, which other believers — who are prayerful and repentant — can draw upon to reduce or erase the punishment they are due because of sins they have committed. Making a pilgrimage, going to confession, receiving Communion and offering prayers to receive an indulgence is a key part of the Holy Year.

SCRANTON – On Dec. 29, 2024, a special Mass will be held locally by Bishop Joseph C. Bambera, to mark the opening of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.

The Mass, which will take place at 12:15 p.m. at the Cathedral of Saint Peter, 315 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, will serve as the official “local launch” of a year-long period of spiritual reflection, renewal and pilgrimage.

The theme of the Holy Year is “Pilgrims of Hope.” The papal bull that introduced the coming Jubilee Year is titled, ‘Spes Non Confundit,’ or “Hope does not disappoint,” drawn from Romans 5:5.

A Jubilee Year, also known as a “holy year,” is a special year in the life of the church currently celebrated every 25 years. The most recent ordinary jubilee was in 2000, with Pope Francis calling for an Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2015-2016. Jubilee Years have been held on regular intervals in the Catholic church since 1300, but they trace their roots to the Jewish tradition of marking a jubilee year every 50 years.

Jubilee 2025 globally will open Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, at 7 p.m., with the rite of the opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican immediately before Pope Francis celebrates Midnight Mass. Holy Doors will also be opened at Rome’s three other major basilicas: St. John Lateran on Dec. 29; St. Mary Major on Jan. 1; and St. Paul’s Outside the Walls on Jan. 5.

A Holy Door will also be opened Dec. 26 at Rebibbia Prison, a Roman prison Pope Francis has visited twice before to celebrate Mass and wash inmates’ feet on Holy Thursday.

The doors represent the passage to salvation Jesus opened to humanity. 

SCRANTON – Catholic Television of the Diocese of Scranton invites viewers who cannot attend Mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord on Dec. 24 and Dec. 25, 2024.

Catholic Television will broadcast the 4:00 p.m. Vigil Mass of the Nativity of the Lord from the Cathedral of Saint Peter on Tuesday, Dec. 24, which will be celebrated by the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton.

Catholic Television will also broadcast the 10:00 a.m. Mass of Christmas Day on Wednesday, Dec. 25, from the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton.

Below are some of the other scheduled broadcasts upcoming on Catholic Television:

SCRANTON – In the days leading up to Christmas each year, you will always find Jessica Bruno of Simpson giving back to the community.

“I like to give back. I look forward to seeing the joy on people’s faces,” Bruno said.

As someone who has received help from community non-profit organizations herself, Bruno knows how much of a helping hand the Christmas Gifts for Kids program is to families that are struggling.

“There are a lot of people out there that can’t afford gifts, especially with today’s economy. This helps a lot of families,” she explained.

This year, 5,000 children in the greater Scranton area will receive gifts from the Christmas Gifts for Kids Program. The annual event is a cooperative effort between Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton, Friends of the Poor, and the Catherine McAuley Center.

“It is a good feeling to be able to help the community for Christmas,” Joe Mahoney, Catholic Social Services Chief Executive Officer, stated. “We couldn’t do this without community support.”

In the months leading up to the toy distribution events, held this year on Dec. 15 & 16, at The University of Scranton, generous community members have been donating gifts for children of all ages, from toddlers to teens.

The toys, games, and books were all sorted and organized by a team of volunteers on Dec. 14. Many of the volunteers represented local parishes and church youth groups.

“This has been a spectacular experience. It is the first time I’m volunteering for something like this, and it really does get you in the spirit of Christmas,” Donna Zehner of Wilkes-Barre, a parishioner at Saint Maria Goretti Parish in Laflin, said.

Zehner was shocked by the number of gifts donated by the community.

“This is a wonderful, wonderful event,” she added.

This year, for the first time, one of the toy distribution dates fell on a weekend– which was done specifically to help working parents.

“We really wanted to accommodate working parents, and we wanted to make sure we’re not asking anyone to take off work, especially unpaid, to be able to come and get their toys,” Meghan Loftus, President and Chief Executive Officer of Friends of the Poor, explained.

What makes the Christmas Gifts for Kids Program so unique is that parents get to choose the toys that they think their children would like best. In all, Loftus said about 2,000 families pre-registered for the toy distribution this year.

“We try to hit that mark because that is roughly the poverty line in Scranton, it is about 15-percent of our population. That would attribute for most of the children living behind the poverty line,” Loftus explained.

For the families who benefit from the program, the Christmas Gifts for Kids initiative is nothing short of a lifeline. Many parents, especially single mothers and fathers working multiple jobs to make ends meet, would struggle to provide the kind of gifts their children dream of at Christmas.

For these families, the program is not just about the presents – it’s about the peace of mind that comes with knowing their children won’t be left out.

“Everyone is here to support the kids,” volunteer Elijah Lyons, a parishioner of Sacred Heart Parish in Dupont, said.

As the final toys were distributed, there is no doubt Christmas may not have been the same without the support of the community – and organizers hope the love and hope shared through this effort will continue to resonate in the community, long after the season of giving is over.

In addition to providing gifts to children and families in Scranton, Catholic Social Services also holds separate toy distributions, with the help of the community, in both Carbondale and Hazleton.

In Hazleton, a total of 580 children received presents, and in Carbondale, more than 300 children were served.

“Helping kids is magical,” Mahoney said.

SCRANTON – Dozens of students from area parishes learned the importance of giving back to their community this holiday season by participating in an annual event at Saint Francis Kitchen that helps spread the holiday spirit.

On Dec. 14, the teens came together to pack 200 shoeboxes filled with essential toiletries, offering help and support to our brothers and sisters who might be homeless or struggling financially.

“I love how God has given us the ability to love and just be able to come together and do something like this for those less fortunate,” Brooke Landis, a high school student who attends Mass at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Brodheadsville, said.

The students filled each shoebox with items that many of us take for granted – shampoo, deodorant, soap, toothpaste, and other basic hygiene products.

“We all pass the boxes down and put one or two of each item in the box,” Demarco Ceccacci, a middle school student who attends Mass at Saint Catherine of Siena Parish in Moscow, explained.

The boxes, carefully packed by the students and then wrapped, will be distributed on Christmas Day at Saint Francis of Assisi Kitchen. The kitchen serves hundreds of meals each week, and on Christmas, it’s particularly important to make sure everyone feels seen, valued, and loved.

“I hope they feel that people care about them and know that they’re not alone,” Alec Weinberger, a student from Wyoming Seminary, stated.

For many of the students involved, the project was a powerful reminder of the difference a small act of kindness can make. As they packed the boxes, they were reminded that the true meaning of the Christmas season lies not in the presents they receive, but in the love they give.

“The Kitchen really appreciates their motivation to come and help those who are less fortunate,” Paola Giangiacomo, Saint Francis Kitchen Board Member, said.