Pope Francis has equated the story of Joseph and Mary to the current refugee crisis during his Christmas Eve Mass. He said the respect for migrants was an integral part of Christianity.
Image: Reuters/T. Gentile
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Today's refugees are fleeing their homes just as Joseph and Mary did in biblical times, Pope Francis said in his Christmas Eve Mass at St Peter's Basilica on Sunday.
Francis told the 10,000-strong gathering of the faithful that just like Jesus' parents in the New Testament, millions of people are today forced to leave their homelands for a better life. He expressed hope that no one will feel "there is no room for them on this Earth."
Sunday evening's gospel reading, at one of the Roman Catholic Church's holiest sites, recounted the Biblical story of how Mary and Joseph had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be registered for a census ordered by Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus.
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"So many other footsteps are hidden in the footsteps of Joseph and Mary," the pope said in his homily. "We see the tracks of entire families forced to set out in our own day. We see the tracks of millions of persons who do not choose to go away but, driven from their land, leave behind their dear ones."
Traffickers denounced
Francis also singled out human traffickers, describing how many migrants are "surviving the Herods of today, who, to impose their power and increase their wealth, see no problem in shedding innocent blood."
In the New Testament, Herod was the king of Judea who ordered the killing of all newborn male children near Bethlehem because he feared Jesus would one day displace him.
The 81-year-old pope, who was born of Italian immigrant stock in Argentina, has made defense of migrants a major plank of his papacy, often putting him at odds with politicians.
Over the past four years, some 14,000 people have died during the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean to EuropeImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/S. Diab
Time to reflect
The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics also urged the faithful to find a quiet moment to reflect on the true meaning of the festive period.
"In these hours that lead us to Christmas, I invite you to find a few moments to stop in silence and prayer before the crib, in order to truly worship the mystery of Christmas," he said.
Sunday's 90-minute Mass began with one of the most important ceremonies in Catholic worship, which saw the pope lift a cloth covering a baby Jesus figure in a symbolic celebration of his birth, while children from all over the world laid flowers by a shrine.
On Christmas Day, Francis is set to deliver at noon the traditional Urbi et Orbi (to the city and to the world) message and blessings from the central balcony of the Vatican basilica.
Earlier this month, the pope returned from a 5-day trip to Asia, which included Myanmar and Bangladesh, where he saw for himself the plight of Rohingya Muslims. Billed as the world's fastest growing refugee crisis, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have been driven from their homes in Rakhine state in recent months by Myanmar security forces.
Pope Francis visits Myanmar
The pontiff is touring Myanmar, the first stop on his six-day trip to South Asia. Human rights activists were anticipating the pope's response to the humanitarian crisis facing the Rohingya Muslims.
Image: Reuters/M. Rossi
Landmark Mass
Pope Francis traveled to Yangon's Kyaikkasan football stadium on Wednesday to celebrate his first public Mass in Myanmar. The pontiff told the crowd of some 150,000 worshippers to resist the temptation to exact revenge for the country's suffering, and instead promote peace, reconciliation and forgiveness.
Image: Reuters/M. Rossi
Meeting the Lady
On Tuesday, the first full day of his Myanmar visit, Pope Francis was in the capital, Naypyidaw, for talks with Myanmar President Htin Kyaw and civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Rights groups had called for him to speak out about the country's crackdown on Rohingya Muslims. In a speech, Francis urged "respect for each ethnic group," but did not mention the Rohingya by name.
Image: Reuters/M. Rossi
'United in diversity'
Earlier, Francis met with leaders of Myanmar's different religious communities at the archbishop's residence in Yangon. During the gathering, the pontiff stressed the importance of "unity in diversity."
Image: Reuters/Osservatore Romano
Roll out the red carpet
Although only 700,000 of Myanmar's 52 million inhabitants are Catholic, that didn't keep thousands of well-wishers from meeting Pope Francis at the airport on Monday and lining the streets of Yangon in order to catch a glimpse of the bishop of Rome.
Image: Reuters/M. Rossi
A cause for celebration
"We come here to see the Holy Father. It happens once in hundreds of years," one Catholic community leader, who brought 1,800 Christians from the south and west to the country on the long train journey to Yangon, told Reuters news agency.
Image: Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun
Minorities greet the pontiff
The pope was greeted by ethnic minorities in traditional dress. About 88 percent of Burmese people identify as Buddhist.
Image: Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun
Humanitarian crisis
The government of Myanmar has been accused of "ethnic cleansing" including the widespread murder and rape of Rohingya Muslims in the country's Rakhine state. Once refugees from Bangladesh, the Rohingya have been declared stateless and persecuted by the Myanmar government.
Image: Reuters/Soe Zeya Tun
Meeting with the commander
Soon after his arrival on Monday, Pope Francis received a "courtesy visit" from Myanmar's army chief Gerneal Min Aung Hlaing. The Vatican did not provide details about the brief meeting. Myanmar's military has been accused of violent purges of Rohingya villages.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/V. Savitsky
First stop
After Myanmar, the pontiff will head to Bangladesh, where many Rohingya have fled. Some inside the Vatican have said that the trip was arranged too hastily after a visit by the now controversial leader Aung San Suu Kyi to Rome last May.
