RAMALLAH, December 25, 2025 (WAFA) – On behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas, the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to the Holy See, Issa Kassissieh, attended the Christmas Mass presided over by Pope Leo XIV.

Ambassador Kassissieh delivered a message from President Abbas to the Pope, congratulating him and all believers celebrating Christmas according to the Western calendar on the occasion of Christmas and the New Year.

He expressed his gratitude to the Pope for his stances and asked him to pray for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people, and the achievement of peace in the Holy Land.

In his letter to Pope Leo XIV, President Abbas noted that Bethlehem had lit its Christmas tree this year after two years of deprivation due to the unjust war on Gaza. He expressed his hope that peace would prevail in the land of peace, so that all followers of the Abrahamic faiths could live in love, security, and stability.

Pope Leo XIV presided over Midnight Mass for Christmas Day at St. Peter's Basilica, where in his homily he spoke about the essence and message of Christmas: love, peace, and hope. He prayed to God for peace to prevail throughout the world.

The Pope also appealed to people of goodwill to respect, at least this Christmas, "one day of peace in the whole world," and commended the visit of Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, to the Gaza Strip a few days prior.

The Pope announced that he had contacted Father Gabriele Romanelli, the parish priest in Gaza, to inquire about the situation there, saying, "They are trying to celebrate the holiday in a still precarious situation. Let us hope that a peace agreement will be reached."

Y.S