Vatican City, Sep 30, 2025 / 12:26 pm

Pope Leo XIV will celebrate Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Day morning, Dec. 25 — a custom dating to the pontificate of St. John Paul II.

The Vatican announced Tuesday Pope Leo’s Mass schedule for Nov. 1 through the end of the Christmas season in January 2026.

The addition of Christmas Mass During the Day, before the urbi et orbi blessing, is accompanied by a new hour for the celebration of the papal Christmas Mass During the Night on Dec. 24.

Leo has moved the celebration of the Christmas Eve Mass from 7:30 p.m. local time, as it was celebrated by Pope Francis, to 10 p.m. The midnight Mass has not been celebrated at midnight at the Vatican since John Paul II’s pontificate.

The relatively young and healthy Leo has presided over a large

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