Pope Francis addresses Ukraine and the Middle East in the Christmas message “Urbi et Orbi”.

Pope Francis delivered his annual Christmas message “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) and blessed it from the Vatican on Wednesday, calling for peace around the globe and an end to ongoing conflicts.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church directly mentioned the war between Russia and Ukraine and called for “the courage necessary to close the door to negotiations” in his address, which serves as a summary of the hardships facing the world this year open”.

“May the noise of weapons in Ukraine be silenced,” Francis said from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to thousands of people in the square below. He also called for “gestures of dialogue and encounter to achieve a just and lasting peace.”

The 88-year-old Francis is celebrating the 12th Christmas of his pontificate by calling for an end to political, social or military conflicts in Lebanon, Mali, Mozambique, Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua, among others.

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Pope Francis delivers the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for “the city and the world”) Christmas blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Wednesday, December 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Francis, who has been pope since 2013, was criticized by Ukrainian officials this year when he said the country should have “white flag” courage to negotiate with Russia to end the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously ruled out participating in peace talks without restoring Ukraine’s pre-war borders. But Zelensky has shown an increasing willingness to begin negotiations in the weeks since Donald Trump’s re-election as US president.

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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky during a briefing with the press on July 8, 2023 in Lviv, Ukraine. (Mykola Tys/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Francis, who has recently become more critical of Israel’s military operation in Gaza, also renewed his call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

He called the humanitarian situation in Gaza “extremely serious” and called for “the doors of dialogue and peace to be opened.”

Demonstrators and relatives of hostages taken by Hamas during the militant group’s October 7 attack on Israel protest on the National Mall, Tuesday, July 23, 2024, in Washington, DC, USA. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Christmas marked the start of celebrations for the Holy Year 2025, which is expected to bring about 32 million Catholics to Rome, according to the Associated Press.

Early Wednesday, pilgrims lined up to pass through the large Holy Door at the entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica. Passage through the Holy Door is a way for the faithful to obtain indulgences or forgiveness of their sins during a jubilee, a quarter-century tradition that dates back to the 1300s.

Worshipers walk through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Wednesday, December 25, 2024, after it was opened by Pope Francis on Christmas Eve to mark the start of the 2025 Catholic Jubilee. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

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On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis knocked on the door and was the first to enter. With this he opened the 2025 anniversary, which he had dedicated to hope.

A Catholic Holy Year, also called an anniversary, is considered a time of peace, forgiveness and forgiveness.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.