By Esra Tekin
ISTANBUL (AA) - Pope Leo XIV, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, presided over his first Christmas Eve mass Wednesday.
The service took place at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in Rome and was attended by cardinals, bishops, priests, diplomatic representatives accredited to the Vatican and a large number of invited guests.
Following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected on May 8 as the 267th pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Leo XIV.
In his speech at the mass, Pope Leo criticized materialism, stating that a distorted economy treats people as commodities.
Before the mass, he greeted believers who had gathered in the square in front of St. Peter’s Basilica, wishing them a Merry Christmas.
Unlike his predecessor, Pope Leo was observed starting the Christmas Eve mass relatively later, closer to midnight, and conducting it for a longer duration.
Media reports interpreted this as, in a sense, a return to old traditions.
On Thursday, following the Christmas Mass, the Pope will deliver the traditional "Urbi et Orbi" (To the City and the World) address from St. Peter's Basilica, conveying messages on global matters.