Pope’s busy Christmas calendar includes start of Jubilee Year, Corsica trip

While a preliminary schedule had already been noted on the Vatican calendar, now the dates have been expanded. As well, Pope Francis will celebrate his 88th birthday on December 17.

December 7 is the first date of note, when the new cardinals will be ushered in at the consistory. The following day, the basilica will host a morning Mass with the new cardinals, which will be followed by an act of veneration for the feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8) not far from the Spanish Steps in Rome at 4 p.m..

On December 12, St. Peter’s will celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe with a special Mass in the evening. This will be the last Mass that Pope Francis celebrates in the basilica before leaving December 15 for his papal trip to Ajaccio, Corsica, where he will preside over an open-air Mass in the afternoon.

The Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica will officially be opened on December 24, Christmas Eve, following the Christmas “Mass during the night.”

The Christmas festivities are in full swing from there, as the following day will hear Pope Francis give his Christmas message and blessing, “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world), from the balcony of St. Peter’s Square at noon. 

After Christmas, on December 26, the Pope will open a Holy Door and hold Mass for the feast of St. Stephen at Rome’s Rebibbia prison at 9 a.m. From there, the schedule is as usual until New Year’s Eve, when the basilica will host evening prayer and the praying of “Te Deum” in thanksgiving for the year of 2024. 

On New Year’s Day, there will be Mass in St. Peter's for the feast of Mary, Mother of God, and the World Day of Peace at 10 a.m. The holiday festivities will start to wind down from there, with a 10 a.m. Mass for the Epiphany on January 6, and a Mass celebrating the feast of the Baptism of the Lord and the baptism of infants at 9:30 a.m. in the Sistine Chapel.

Click here to see more.