Peter’s Square. He closed out 2025 with a prayer that the city of Rome might be a welcoming place for foreigners and fragile people, young and old. Leo presided over a New Year’s Eve vespers service in St. Peter’s Basilica last night, giving thanks for the 2025 Holy Year that brought millions of pilgrims to Rome in the once-every-quarter-century celebration of Christianity.

Speaking before the recitation of the traditional thanksgiving hymn of the Te Deum, Pope Leo said he is grateful to God for the “gift of the Jubilee, which has been a powerful sign of his plan of hope for humanity and for the world.”

–Reuters–