Pope Francis called on Catholics to become “pilgrims of hope” in a BBC podcast, emphasizing that “hope and kindness touch the very heart of the Gospel.”

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.

Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, delivered the "Urbi et Orbi" Christmas message and blessing from the Vatican at noon local time.

He made the remarks a day after the start of the 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.

As the Pope left the Rebibbia prison, he stopped to greet the 300 inmates and staff who had waited outside of the crowded chapel on the cold December morning.

Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, said “Pope Francis sometimes likes to make surprises.”

Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), in an interview with Radio Liberty Details: Francis has received an invitation for such a visit, and, Shevchuk said, the UGCC has assurances that it has been accepted,

Pope Francis has opened a "Holy Door" for the 2025 Catholic Holy Year at a prison in Rome, bringing a message of hope to inmates and involving them in the Catholic Church's once-every-quarter-century celebration that is expected to bring about 32 million pilgrims to the city.

The Pope on Tuesday celebrated the inauguration of the Jubilee Year by symbolically opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, noting that the Jubilee Year’s principal message is that of hope and forgiveness.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was 17 years old when he first received his vocation to become a priest. It happened on Sept. 21, 1953 — the beginning of spring in Buenos Aires — during a spontaneous visit to the confessional,

Pope Francis, who is 88 and was born in Argentina, gave the Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday, and urged kindness and hope in his message for 2025