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.”

The pope inaugurated the Catholic Church's historic 2025 Jubilee of "Hope" on Christmas Eve at the Vatican in traditional ceremonies before he addressed thousands of Catholic faithful.

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.

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,

The Pope has accepted an invitation to visit Ukraine. However, the date of the visit is not yet known, states the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, according to Radio Svoboda.

I mean stories which were important but which didn’t generate a lot of buzz, either in the mainstream media or the specialized Catholic press. It’s not that they weren’t covered, simply that the volume wasn’t proportionate to the merits of the story.

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,