Pilgrims lined up early Wednesday to pass through the great Holy Door at the entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica as Christmas marked the start of the 2025 Holy Year celebrations expected to bring some 32 million Catholics to Rome.

Passing through the Holy Door is one of the ways in which the faithful can receive indulgences or forgiveness of sins during the Jubilee, a tradition that takes place every quarter of a century and dates back to the 1300s. On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis knocked on the door and was the first to enter through it , opening the 2025 jubilee, which he dedicated to hope.

Pilgrims are subject to security checks before entering the Holy Door, amid new security fears after the deadly Attack on the Christmas market in Germany. Many stopped to touch the door and cross themselves as they entered the basilica dedicated to Saint Peter, the founder of the Roman Catholic Church.

Inside, the beauty of a newly renovated St. Peter’s Basilica it was discovered after extensive restoration work that was undertaken in preparation for the Jubilee year.

One of the most significant renovations is from Bernini’s canopycanopy located on top Saint Peter’s graveremoving centuries of grime to reveal its shiny golden finish. The Chair of St. Peter, an important symbol of papal authority dating back to 875, was also restored.

At noon local time, Francis delivered the traditional speech “Urbi et Orbi” — “To the City and the World” — focusing on the challenges facing the world this year.

Speaking from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to thousands of people in the square below, the pope said: “Let the sound of weapons be silenced in a war-torn Ukraine!” He called for “gestures of dialogue and meeting, in order to achieve a just and lasting peace”.

He called for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia end a war that has killed tens of thousands since Moscow’s full-scale invasion more than two years ago. The conflict did not pause for the holiday, as Russia carried out what it called of a “massive strike” aimed at energy facilities in Ukraine on Christmas.

Pope Francis also renewed his call for a ceasefire in Israel-Hamas warinviting humanitarian crisis in Gaza “extremely serious” and called for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

In his message on Wednesday, the Pope said the Jubilee Year should be a time for “each individual, all people and nations … to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the sound of weapons and overcome divisions.”

Christmas and Hanukkah coincide, which is a rare occurrence

Hanukkahthe Jewish eight-day Festival of Lights, begins this year on Christmas, which has happened only four times since 1900.

The calendar merger has inspired some religious leaders to organize interfaith gatherings, such as the Chikanuka party held last week by several Jewish organizations in Houston, Texas, bringing together members of the city’s Hispanic and Jewish communities for latkes, the traditional potato pancake eaten on Hanukkah. , topped with guacamole and salsa.

Although Hanukkah is intended as an optimistic, celebratory holiday, the rabbis note that this year it is being held as wars are raging in the Middle East and fears are growing due to widespread incidents of anti-Semitism. The holidays rarely overlap because the Jewish calendar is based on lunar cycles and is not aligned with the Gregorian calendar, which puts Christmas on December 25. The last time Hanukkah started was Christmas in 2005.

German celebrations muted after market attack

The German celebration was overshadowed by a a car attack on a Christmas market on Friday in Magdeburg, in which five people died, including a nine-year-old boy, and 200 were injured. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier rewrote his recorded Christmas speech to address the attack, saying “there is sadness, pain, horror and misunderstanding about what happened in Magdeburg”. He urged Germans to “stick together” and that “hatred and violence must not have the last word.”

A 50-year-old Saudi doctor who had been practicing medicine in Germany since 2006 was arrested on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and bodily harm. The suspect’s X account describes him as a former Muslim and is full of anti-Islamic themes. He criticized the authorities for failing to fight the “Islamization of Germany” and expressed support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Reuters news agency contributed to the report.