Addressing the faithful in his first Christmas sermon, Pope Leo XIV pointed to "rubble and open wounds" and "defenseless populations" left behind by wars.
The US-born religious leader pointed to the story of Jesus' birth and the Christian messiah being born in a stable, describing it as a sign of God pitching "his fragile tent" among the people of the world.
"How, then, can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold?" he asked.
"Fragile are the minds and lives of young people forced to take up arms, who on the front lines feel the senselessness of what is asked of them and the falsehoods that fill the pompous speeches of those who send them to their deaths," the pope added.
The language used by the US-born pope seems to be unusually direct. Leo, who succeeded Pope Francis earlier this year, has tended to avoid direct references to politics in his sermons.
Humanitarian agencies say despite the ceasefire in October between Israel and Hamas there is still too little aid getting into Gaza, where nearly the entire population is homeless.
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Christmas time is summertime in Australia, and Bondi Beach in Sydney is a popular site for holiday celebrations.
This year, however, the celebrations are muted as the city and the country reel from the deadly terror attack on Bondi Beach earlier this month.
"Everyone is feeling for the family and friends who are going through the worst possible thing you could imagine," British tourist Mark Conroy told the Reuters news agency.
"I think people here are out on the beach, because it's like a celebration but everybody has got it in their memories," he said.
The December 14 attack saw two gunmen kill at least 15 people as they fired at the crowds celebrating the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The attack triggered a debate about public safety, gun laws and antisemitism in Australia. On Thursday, Australian media reported that a car with a "Happy Hanukkah" sign on the roof was set on fire in Melbourne, the country's second city.
Pope Leo XIV gave his first Christmas Mass after being elected to the role in May.
The pontiff spoke about the holiday, calling it a day of "faith, charity and hope," while also criticizing a "distorted economy" that, according to the pope, brings people to "treat human beings as mere merchandise."
High-ranking Church figures, diplomats and around 6,000 faithful attended the mass.
Outside the St Peters Basilica, thousands of people followed the mass on large screens.
"St Peter's is very large but unfortunately it is not large enough to receive all of you," he told the crowd of around 5,000 people.
Ahead of Christmas, Pope Leo XIV called for "24 hours of peace in the whole world," later expressing "great sadness" due to Russia's unwillingness to accept the offer and halt the hostilities in its war in Ukraine.
After two years of war and devastation, Christmas returns to Bethlehem, the city revered as Jesus's birthplace.
A giant tree now stands in Manger Square, where locals and tourists gather in celebration. For a city that relies on tourism, the holiday marks a fragile hope for recovery.
Amid ongoing tensions, residents and church leaders call for peace and light after years of darkness.
Southern California has seen a heavy winter storm hitting the area ahead of Christmas, with experts forecasting the region's wettest end of December in years.
Mudslides are feared in the wildfire-hit area due to the heavy rain, with snow coloring the mountains white, and flash flood warnings issued in the Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
"Severe, widespread flash flooding is expected," the National Weather Service said, adding that "lives and property are in great danger."
Those having to drive during Christmas have been warned of hazardous conditions.
"If you’re planning to be on the roads for the Christmas holidays, please reconsider your plans," National Weather Service meteorologist in Los Angeles Ariel Cohen said.
Much of Germany is heading into a frosty and blustery Christmas, but with little chance of widespread snow, according to the German Weather Service.
Forecasters said only parts of southern Germany are likely to see a light dusting of snow, while icy temperatures and strong winds dominate the holiday period.
The Weather Service said wind chill values could drop to minus 10 degrees Celsius during the day, and as low as minus 20 degrees at night and in the early morning hours.
Meteorologist Sebastian Schappert advised people to bundle up before heading outside.
Hopes for white Christmases are set to be disappointed in most regions. Only isolated areas in the south, including parts of the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps, may see some snowfall on Christmas Eve, enough for a thin snow cover.
Elsewhere, skies are expected to remain mostly cloudy, sometimes foggy, with persistent frost and brisk winds.
Families and villagers in north-central Nigeria have reunited with schoolchildren who were held for a month after one of the country’s largest mass abductions, with emotional scenes marking their return just ahead of Christmas.
The 130 schoolchildren and teachers were released on Sunday and brought back to Papiri community in Niger state, the final group freed since the November 21 attack on St. Mary’s Catholic School.
Mothers hugged their children with tears in their eyes, while other youngsters were lifted into the air as villagers gathered around, checking them carefully and calling out their names.
"This Christmas, since we are celebrating Christmas with our children, we are so glad. And this Christmas will be different from the others," said Yusuf Timothy, whose daughter Rejoice was among those released.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged people to pause, reflect, and draw strength over Christmas, while acknowledging the challenges of his first year in office.
"Christmas is a time to pause, to be grateful, and to draw strength in the circle of family and friends," —Merz said in a Christmas message posted on X. "I wish you blessed, peaceful Christmas days and confidence for the new year. May this time strengthen and encourage us."
In a separate video message lasting just over two minutes, Merz looked back on a year shaped by February's elections, which brought him to power at the head of Europe's largest economy. He said governing with his conservative bloc and the center-left Social Democrats had required compromise.
"There were discussions, and not everything went off completely smoothly," Merz said.
"We need patience and persistence, just as much as the drive to continue to decide the best for our country every day," he said.
Merz also stressed his government's focus on Europe's future, underlining peace, security, and prosperity as core priorities. "In these months and years, it's about the peace, about the security and about the prosperity of our entire continent," he said, reiterating his strong support for Ukraine.
Thousands of people have gathered in Bethlehem's Manger Square on Christmas Eve, as Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Catholic leader in the Holy Land, formally opened the celebrations.
Arriving in Manger Square, Pizzaballa said he carried greetings from Gaza’s small Christian community, where he celebrated a pre-Christmas Mass earlier in the week.
He said that amid widespread destruction, he also witnessed a strong desire to live and rebuild.
"We, all together, we decide to be the light, and the light of Bethlehem is the light of the world," he told the crowd of Christians and Muslims gathered in the square.
Crossing the separation wall into the West Bank from Jerusalem earlier, Pizzaballa called for "a Christmas full of light," saying, "after two years of darkness, we need light."
Despite the festive scenes, the economic impact of the war remains severe in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In Bethlehem, about 80% of residents depend on tourism-related businesses, according to local authorities.
Most of those celebrating were local residents, with only a small number of foreign visitors present.
On December 24, the North American Aerospace Defense Command will swap military duties for holiday cheer, tracking Santa's journey across the globe.
The tradition began 70 years ago after a child dialed the wrong number and asked where Santa was.
Today, 1,000 volunteers answer calls from 4 a.m. to midnight, while millions follow Santa online in 9 languages.
Last year, NORAD received nearly 400,000 calls — and expects even more this Christmas.
Christmas celebrations have begun in the Holy Land, with a traditional procession setting off from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.
The highest representative of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, led the motorcade.
Pizzaballa is due to celebrate Midnight Mass in Bethlehem, which is considered the birthplace of Jesus Christ.
Traditional celebrations in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank were rather subdued over the past two years because of the war in Gaza.
This year's celebrations are still overshadowed by war, despite the shaky ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian extremist group Hamas, which took effect on October 10.
Christians are a minority in the Jewish state and across the Palestinian territories.
From Gaza's more than 2 million inhabitants, around 1,000 are Christians, while around 2% of Israel's population of 10 million are Christian. Christians also account for around 1.5% of the 3 million people living in the West Bank.
Pope Leo XIV is preparing to hold his first Christmas Mass in St Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve.
The Chicago-born pope is the first US cleric to occupy the position, succeeding Argentinian-born Pope Francis who died this spring.
The pontiff is expected to speak out against war and violence in his Christmas message. Earlier, Christian church leaders in Jerusalem emphasized a message of hope at Christmas while warning against false expectations of peace amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
In a joint message published ahead of Christmas Eve, the heads of the churches said a ceasefire in Gaza has allowed some communities to celebrate more openly again, but urged restraint and realism.
"Despite a declared cessation of hostilities, hundreds have continued to be killed or suffer grievous injury," the statement said.
The group includes the patriarchs of the Greek Orthodox, Armenian, and Latin churches of Jerusalem, the Custos of the Holy Land representing the Roman Catholic Franciscan Custody, and the archbishops of the Coptic Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, and Ethiopian Orthodox churches.
A traditional midnight mass will also be celebrated at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where a large Christmas tree has been erected for the first time in two years.