More than half a million pilgrims crossed the threshold of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in the first two weeks after Pope Francis opened it.

During the Holy Year 2025, Catholics are called not only to grow in the virtue of hope, but also to share it with others, said U.S. Cardinal James M. Harvey, archpriest of Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

In a troubled world, the birth of Christ reveals God’s unwavering determination to draw all people to himself and illuminate even the darkest corners, Pope Francis said.

Just as the star over Bethlehem called to and welcomed everyone to encounter the newborn Jesus, God today calls on the faithful to welcome everyone, creating safe, open spaces to find warmth and shelter, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis has appointed Consolata Missionary Sister Simona Brambilla to be the first woman to lead a Vatican dicastery, naming her prefect of the Dicastery for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life.

During the Holy Year 2025, Christians should deepen their spiritual lives through adoration and then transform their prayer into concrete acts of service, Pope Francis said.

When Catholics come to Rome for the Holy Year, their journey should have the specific goal of encountering and listening to Jesus, Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis has asked Catholics around the world to pray with him in January that migrants, refugees and victims of war will have a chance for an education.

Pope Francis was “deeply saddened” to learn of deaths and injuries caused by the attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, which killed 15 people.

Opening the Holy Door of the oldest Marian shrine in the Western world, Cardinal Rolando Makrickas prayed that the world would entrust itself to Mary, “the door to heaven.”