The tenacious hope of people of faith, believing in a better tomorrow, keeps God’s plan of salvation alive in the world, Pope Leo XIV said.

Close to 3 million pilgrims and visitors attended audiences, liturgies or meetings at the Vatican with Pope Leo XIV from the time of his election in May through December, according to the Prefecture of the Papal Household.

Before the final countdown to the New Year, Christians should take a moment to remember all God’s blessings of the past year and to reflect honestly on how they responded to those graces, Pope Leo XIV said.

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.