Pope Leo XIV issued an appeal for peace around the world in his first Christmas address as pope to thousands of the faithful braving rain on St Peter's Square in Rome on Thursday.
Everyone should work for an end to hatred, violence and division and for dialogue, peace and reconciliation, the pope urged.
When he appeared on the balcony of St Peter's at 12 noon (1100 GMT), cheers erupted from the crowd waiting in the rain. He had earlier greeted the crowd from the popemobile. The Vatican put the numbers gathered at around 26,000, as Italy's ANSA news agency reported.
Leo asked that "the clamour of weapons cease" and urged all involved in the war in Ukraine to find the courage to engage in "sincere, direct, and respectful dialogue" with the support of the international community.
On Wednesday, Leo was reported to have expressed sadness that Russia had rejected a Christmas ceasefire. He also called for a 24-hour ceasefire in all the world's wars.
Noting other global conflicts, the pope mentioned victims of war and violence in Sudan, South Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Turning to the Middle East, he prayed for "justice, peace and stability for Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and Syria."
Leo recalled that on a recent trip to the region he had heard the fears of the people and knew their feelings of powerlessness in the face of the power relations they suffered under. He made special mention of the people of Gaza who had lost everything.
During his morning sermon, Leo had referred to how Gazans were sheltering in tents exposed to rain, wind and cold.
The pope also mentioned migrants fleeing their homes, whether across the Mediterranean Sea or in the Americas.
In conclusion, he spoke the traditional "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing, wishing the crowd a happy Christmas in 10 languages.
Leo was elected pope in May, after his predecessor, Francis, died in April at the age of 88. This Christmas was the first for around 1.4 billion faithful around the world with an American as pope.
At midnight mass on Christmas Eve in a packed St Peter's Basilica, Leo referred to the words of Benedict XVI, who served as pope between 2005 and his resignation in 2013 and who had termed Christmas a festival of hope.
Leo had earlier welcomed thousands watching the mass on screens under pouring rain on St Peter's Square, thanking them for coming despite the weather and blessing them before returning to the basilica for the mass.
