Christmas At The Vatican Gets A Traditional Reset Under Leo XIV

By ANITA KNIGHT

Tradition & Tone

FOR the first time since his election, Pope Leo XIV led the Vatican’s Christmas Eve Mass on Wednesday, presiding over the global liturgy from St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The ceremony, held later than the schedule favoured by his predecessor Pope Francis, began close to midnight and extended longer than recent Christmas vigils—an adjustment widely interpreted by Vatican observers as a symbolic revival of older Catholic liturgical rhythms.

A Basilica Full of Power, Faith and Diplomacy

The mass drew the full hierarchy of the Holy See: cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, and religious superiors. Also in attendance were diplomatic envoys accredited to the Vatican, representatives of international organisations, state delegations, and hundreds of specially invited guests. The service, broadcast worldwide, marked Pope Leo’s first Christmas liturgy as pontiff, following a papal transition year that reshaped the leadership of the world’s largest Christian denomination.

From Prevost to Leo XIV

After the passing of Pope Francis on April 21, the College of Cardinals convened in conclave, electing Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost on May 8 as the 267th pope. Choosing the name Leo XIV, the new pontiff signalled continuity of doctrine but a shift in liturgical temperament. His first Christmas Eve mass offered a glimpse into that evolving style—more ceremonially expansive, lengthier in delivery, and timed nearer to midnight, reflecting a cadence that many commentators described as “pre-modern Vatican,” evoking the longer vigils of past papacies.

A Christmas Rebuke to Materialism

In his homily, Pope Leo XIV delivered a sharp critique of unchecked materialism, warning that consumer-driven economies risk replacing human dignity with profit logic. “A distorted economy,” he said, “reduces people to products and commodities, weakening the sacredness of the human person.” His remarks echoed longstanding Catholic concerns about economic ethics, while adding his own emphasis on spiritual resistance to what he framed as “the theology of markets replacing the theology of the human soul.”

Greeting the Square

Before the mass, the Pope stepped briefly into St. Peter’s Square to greet pilgrims who had gathered in winter temperatures to witness the pontiff’s first Christmas Eve blessing. Smiling and speaking warmly in multiple languages, he wished believers a “Merry Christmas filled with compassion, prayer and hope,” before retreating into the Basilica to begin the night liturgy.

What Comes Next

On Thursday, he is expected to deliver the traditional Urbi et Orbi address from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, a moment where the Pope customarily speaks to global crises, diplomacy, conflict, peace, and the moral direction of the world. For Pope Leo XIV, the address will complete his first Christmas cycle as pontiff—linking old tradition to new leadership, and prayer to geopolitics.