Pope Francis kicked off the 2025 Holy Year on Tuesday, inaugurating a celebration of the Catholic Church that is expected to draw some 32 million pilgrims to Rome in a test of the pope's stamina and the ability of the Eternal City to welcome them.

"I invite every individual, and all people of all nations ... to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the sounds of arms and overcome divisions," the pope said from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica to throngs of people below.

Pope Francis said the story of Jesus' birth as a poor carpenter's son should instil hope that all people can make an impact on the world, as the pontiff on Tuesday led the world's Roman Catholics into Christmas.

Pope Francis in his Christmas message called for talks between Ukraine and Russia to end the war that followed Moscow's full-scale invasion two years ago.

The Pope also addressed the war in Ukraine, calling for the “sound of arms to be silenced in war-torn Ukraine”

In his traditional Christmas message on 25 December, Pope Francis mentioned the war in Ukraine, calling for an end to it and for negotiations for a just peace. Source: European Pravda Details: Pope Francis devoted two sentences of his Christmas message to the mention of Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine.

Christmas message, Pope Francis urged the world to “silence the sound of arms" and find reconciliation, “even (with) our enemies."

Hope lives, Francis reminded the faithful on Christmas Eve, as he spoke of the blessed arrival of the Christ Child and the start of the Jubilee.

He made the remarks a day after the start of Roman Catholic Church’s Holy Year, known as a Jubilee, which takes place every quarter century. On Tuesday evening, Francis opened the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica so that the first pilgrims could go through. Millions more are expected to follow over the year.

Pope Francis is expected to address the world's wars and conflicts in his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" message to the faithful spoken from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican at noon on Wednesday,

He referred specifically to the wars between Russia and Ukraine, and the Israel-Hamas war. He also called for an end to other conflicts, whether political, social or military.