The claim stems from the celebration of the 2025 Jubilee, a Roman Catholic tradition that happens every 25 years.

Pope Francis has called for a ceasefire on all war fronts in his Sunday prayer ahead of Christmas celebrations, condemning the “cruelty” of bombing schools and hospitals in Ukraine and Gaza.

Francis urged the Vatican inner circle to bless more and talk less badly of others. It wasn’t the first time he had used the occasion to scold them.

Pope Francis, who has just turned 88 and has been suffering from a heavy cold, will lead the regular Sunday Angelus prayer from inside his residence as a precaution, the Vatican said in a statement on Saturday.

Pope Francis has told Vatican bureaucrats to stop speaking ill of one another, calling gossip "an evil that destroys social life."

Pope Francis has made a poignant plea for ceasefires everywhere as Christmas approaches, emphasizing the need to silence weapons and let carols fill the air. Speaking from indoors at the Vatican Sunday,

The Pope called for a worldwide ceasefire during Christmas. Francis, who was nursing a cold, prayed from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta. Pope Francis recited the Angelus prayer from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta,