In his Angelus address on Dec. 26, Pope Francis reflected on Stephen’s last words as he was being stoned to death: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

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.

The intimate Mass led by Pope Francis marked a historic moment — the first opening of a jubilee Holy Door within a prison.

Wearing red vestments for the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, Pope Francis knocked on the door of the church in Rome's Rebibbia prison complex and walked over its threshold.

Pope Francis has opened a "Holy Door" for the 2025 Catholic Holy Year at a prison in Rome, bringing a message of hope to inmates and involving them in the Catholic Church's once-every-quarter-century celebration that is expected to bring about 32 million pilgrims to the city.

Opening the Holy Doors of St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve, Pope Francis inaugurates a jubilee year expected to draw 32 million visitors to Rome.

"I invite every individual, and all people of all nations ... to become pilgrims of hope, to silence the sounds of arms and overcome divisions," the pope said from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica to throngs of people below.

In the Catholic Church, jubilees are marked every 25 years, according to the local diocese, and are rooted in Jewish tradition.

ROME — Pope Francis inaugurated his Holy Year at Rome’s main prison on Thursday, bringing a message of hope to inmates and involving them in the Catholic Church’s once every quarter-century celebration that is expected to bring about 32 million ...