Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a message in Pope Leo’s name to participants in the recent national conference for the educators and leaders of the Italian Catholic Action movement.

In the message, Pope Leo asked the 1,700 attendees to “consider how the life of the educator, his constant human and spiritual growth as a disciple of Christ, sustained by the grace of God, is a fundamental factor at his disposal to give effectiveness to his service to the younger generations.”

At the conclusion of his general audience yesterday, Pope Leo XIV recalled the 60th anniversary of the Letter of Reconciliation of the Polish Bishops to the German Bishops, written two decades after the conclusion of World War II.

The message “changed the history of Europe,” Pope Leo told Polish-speaking pilgrims. “May the words of that document—‘We forgive and ask forgiveness’—be for the peoples in conflict today a testimony that reconciliation and forgiveness are possible when they are born of a mutual desire for peace and a common commitment, in truth, for the good of humanity.”

The Vatican omitted Pope Leo’s words from its English translation of his remarks.

On December 9, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, marked the anniversary in an Italian-language address at Pontifical Gregorian University.

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, celebrated the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St. Anne at a Divine Liturgy in Canberra, Australia.

“By studying biology and modern science, you know that human life begins at conception,” he preached. “With the development of the central and peripheral nervous systems, the child in the womb enters into personal relationships. A newborn child recognizes the mother’s voice and feels her heartbeat.”

“Today, with this solemn service, we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of our Mother, the Heavenly Virgin Mary,” he continued. “The Virgin Mary entered into a special relationship not only with her mother [St. Anne], but also with the Holy Trinity.”

Pope Leo has sent aid, through the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, to assist victims of floods in at least four Asian nations.

The Vatican newspaper did not report on the amount of the aid, but did report that the aid was sent “to countries in serious difficulty, such as Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.”

Archbishop Diego Ravelli, who leads the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, has released the schedule of Masses and other liturgies at which Pope Leo will preside during the Christmas season.

Pope Leo is scheduled to celebrate two Christmas Masses in St. Peter’s Basilica: at 10:00 PM on December 24 and at 10:00 AM on December 25. In 2024, Pope Francis presided at one Christmas Mass, at 7:00 PM on December 24.

As is customary, the Pope will also offer an Urbi et Orbi blessing on Christmas Day, preside at Vespers on December 31, and celebrate Masses on January 1 (the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God) and on January 6 (the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord on the General Roman Calendar).

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The Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Damasus I (306-384), who was Supreme Pontiff from 366 to 384. He was a very learned man, well versed in the Scriptures. He commissioned St. Jerome to complete the translation of the Bible into the Latin language. Shortly after his reign the 72 books of the Bible, hitherto scattered in different parts of the Orient, were collected into one volume. He defended the rights of the Holy See, and beautified the Roman resting places of the Christian dead and of the saints. He also confirmed the practice of singing the Psalms day and night in the churches and adding a Glory Be at the end of each Psalm.

Here’s the totally unofficial, absolutely joyful playlist of the moments that made the Church in 2025 sing, cry, and hit “share.”