Seventeen Catholic priests, sisters, seminarians and lay workers were murdered in 2025, according to Fides, the Vatican’s missionary news agency.

All power must be built on responsibility and service, Pope Leo XIV told local government leaders.

The path to conversion, the door to God’s mercy and the call to live in Christian hope all continue beyond the Jubilee Year, said the three cardinals who closed the Holy Doors at three major basilicas in Rome.

Christian families must not let today’s tyrants suffocate their love and witness to Gospel values, Pope Leo XIV said.

This year has been extraordinary not just because of the papal transition, but because of the election of Pope Leo XIV himself.

For Archbishop Rino Fisichella, organizer of the Jubilee 2025 events and pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, the pope’s death “created a silence that was felt in the streets of Rome and the world, as well as in every Christian community.”

As Pope Leo XIV wrapped up his first apostolic visit to Turkey and Lebanon, he gave a hint on his flight back to Rome as to which other countries he might visit in 2026.

Jesus entering the world as a little baby in need of everything is a sign of God’s solidarity with every person in need, longing for love and a helping hand, Pope Leo XIV said at Christmas morning Mass.

If people refuse to make room for others — like the poor, children and the stranger — then they also refuse to make room for God, Pope Leo XIV said as he celebrated the birth of Jesus.

At a time when so much pressure and so many demands are placed on priests, they should find support, freedom and relief in recognizing the gifts of laypeople and collaborating with them, Pope Leo XIV said.