Pope Leo calls for Christians to treat foreigners with kindness as he closes Catholic Holy Year
- - Pope Leo calls for Christians to treat foreigners with kindness as he closes Catholic Holy Year
Landon MionJanuary 7, 2026 at 6:57 AM
0
Pope Leo XIV closed the Catholic Church's Holy Year on Tuesday by urging Christians around the world to help people in need and treat foreigners with kindness.
Leo, who has repeatedly stressed the importance of caring for immigrants during his papacy thus far, said at a Vatican ceremony that the record 33.5 million pilgrims who visited Rome during the Holy Year should have learned not to treat people as mere "products."
"Around us, a distorted economy tries to profit from everything," Leo said. "After this year, will we be better able to recognize a pilgrim in the visitor, a seeker in the stranger, a neighbor in the foreigner?"
Us Catholic Bishops President Says Deportations Instilling 'Fear' In 'Widespread Manner': 'Concerns Us All'
Pope Leo XIV closed the Catholic Church's Holy Year by urging Christians around the world to help people in need and treat foreigners with kindness.
Holy years, or jubilees, typically happen every 25 years, considered to be a time of peace, forgiveness and pardon. Pilgrims to Rome can enter special "Holy Doors" at four Rome basilicas and attend papal audiences throughout the year.
Leo shut the special bronze door at St. Peter's Basilica on Tuesday morning, which officially marked the end of the Holy Year.
Read On The Fox News App
The next Holy Year is not expected before 2033, when the Catholic Church may hold a special one to mark 2,000 years since the death of Jesus.
Pope Leo Xiv Opens 2026 Urging World To Reject Violence In Powerful New Year's Day Message
Pope Leo XIV said the record pilgrims who visited Rome during the Holy Year should have learned not to treat people as mere "products."
On Monday, the Vatican and Italian officials said pilgrims to Rome for the 2025 jubilee came from 185 countries, with the majority from Italy, the U.S., Spain, Brazil and Poland.
The 2025 jubilee was opened by the late Pope Francis, who died in April, and closed by Leo, who was elected in May, making him the first American pope.
It was a historical rarity not seen in 300 years for it to be opened by one pope and closed by another. The last jubilee held under two different popes was in the year 1700, when Innocent XII opened the Holy Year that was then closed by Clement XI.
Click Here To Download The Fox News App
Leo, who has promised to keep Francis' signature policies such as welcoming gay Catholics and discussing women's ordination, echoed his predecessor's frequent criticisms of the global economic system during his remarks on Tuesday.
The markets "turn human yearnings of seeking, traveling and beginning again into a mere business," Leo said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Original article source: Pope Leo calls for Christians to treat foreigners with kindness as he closes Catholic Holy Year
Source: “AOL Breaking”
