The proximity of the birth of Jesus, our Savior, and the beginning of a new cycle of catechesis throughout the Jubilee on the theme ‘Jesus Christ, our hope’, the nativity scene in homes, prayer for peace, closeness to the victims and relatives of the Mayotte archipelago devastated by a cyclone, and his recent trip to Corsica, have marked the Audience of Pope Francis this morning in the Paul VI Hall.
A Paul VI Hall in which this Wednesday close to Christmas, together with the Pope, were the relics of Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus, and around 900 members of the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Rocío, accompanied by the bishop of Huelva , Mons. Santiago Gómez, in memory of the pilgrimage of Saint John Paul II to the Virgen del Rocío in 1993.
In Corsica, “faith is not a private matter”
Regarding his recent trip to Corsica, the Pope highlighted that he was “warmly received, I was particularly impressed by the fervor of the people, where faith is not a private matter, and by the number of children present: a great joy and a great hope!” A theme, that of birth and childhood, on which Francis has insisted in a special way in this year 2024.
In his call for peace, shortly before giving the Blessing, the Roman Pontiff asked that “we pray for peace, we cannot let people suffer from wars, Palestine, Israel, and all those who suffer, Ukraine, Myanmar, Let us not forget to pray for peace, for wars to end, let us ask the Prince of Peace to give us this grace, peace in the world, war is always a defeat.”
Grandparents and the elderly: don’t be alone at Christmas
In his words to the Portuguese-speaking pilgrims, the Pope has highlighted another theme that is close to his heart, and that is related to the issue addressed in today’s catechesis: “The genealogy of Jesus makes us think about our ancestors, our grandparents and in the wealth of all the elderly. They are a gift from God that we must thank and take care of. Let’s not let them find themselves alone during the upcoming Christmas holidays. May the Virgin and Saint Joseph protect you!”
The childhood of Jesus
The topic addressed by the Pope this morning was ‘The childhood of Jesus – Genealogy of Jesus (Mt 1,1-17). The entry of the Son of God into history’.
This is how the Holy Father summarized it: “Today we begin a new cycle of catechesis for the Jubilee Year, with the theme ‘Jesus Christ our hope’. In this first part we reflect on the childhood of Jesus, which we find narrated in the first chapters of the Gospel of Matthew and Luke. While Luke describes the events from Mary’s point of view, Matthew does so from Joseph’s perspective, and this is evidenced, above all, by the genealogy.
The figure of Mary: Jesus was born from her
The Gospels of infancy, the Pope has pointed out, recount the virginal conception of Jesus and his birth from the womb of Mary; They remember the messianic prophecies fulfilled in him and speak of the legal paternity of Joseph, who grafted the Son of God into the ‘trunk’ of the Davidic dynasty.”
“In the genealogy that Matthew presents, where both men and women are mentioned, the figure of Mary stands out, marking a new beginning: from her was born Jesus, true man and true God.”
Grateful memory of our ancestors
Pope Francis has stressed that “unlike the genealogies of the Old Testament, in which only male names appear, because in Israel it is the father who imposes the name on his son, in Matthew’s list of Jesus’ ancestors they also appear women”.
“What Matthew highlights,” he stated, “is that, as Benedict XVI has written, ‘through them… the world of the Gentiles enters the genealogy of Jesus: his mission is manifested to the Jews and the pagans’ ( The childhood of Jesus, Milan-Vatican City 2012, 15).
At the conclusion of his catechesis, the Pope encouraged us to “awaken in ourselves the grateful memory of our ancestors. And, above all, let us give thanks to God, who, through Mother Church, has generated us to eternal life, the life of Jesus, our hope.”
