Pope asks that Rome welcomes foreigners as he closes out 2025

Pope Leo stops for a moment of prayer in front of the nativity scene in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican (Andrew Medichini/AP)

Pope Leo XIV has closed out 2025 with a prayer that the city of Rome might be a welcoming place for foreigners and fragile people, young and old.

Leo presided over a New Year’s Eve vespers service at St Peter’s Basilica, giving thanks for the 2025 Holy Year that brought millions of pilgrims to Rome in the once-every-quarter-century celebration of Christianity.