Pope Francis expressed this Sunday the wish that next Christmas brings “a ray of peace” to wars around the world, especially in Ukraine, at the end of the Angelus prayer from the window of the Apostolic Palace.
“I invite you to pray before the manger so that Christmas brings a ray of peace to children around the world, especially those who are forced to live through the terrible and dark days of war, this war in Ukraine, which is destroying so many lives and so many children”, the faithful who listened to him in the Plaza de San Pedro recounted, quoted by Efe.
The pontiff also blessed the figures of the baby Jesus carried by children to the Vatican square, a Christmas tradition started in 1969 by Pope Paul VI.
Francis has expressed concern about the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s Russia on February 24, and his calls for peace are continuous, even going so far as to offer mediation by the Holy See to resolve the conflict.
On Thursday, Pope Francis was visibly moved to remember the victims of this war, during the homage to the Immaculate Conception, in the Spanish Steps, in Rome.
Source: TSF
