Holly and Jolly Christmas to all

Pope Francis has addressed a late-night Christmas Mass at the Vatican. The head of Catholic Church denounced the continuing suffering of children, bombing in Syrian cities like Aleppo, and mentioned those who faced hunger and danger on migration routes.

Inside St Peter’s Basilica Saturday’s Mass celebrating the birth of Jesus is the first major event of the Christmas season for the pope, and will include his noon blessing on Christmas Day. He urged compassion towards refugees, urging Christians to remember that Jesus himself was a migrant.