Remember the war weary and the poor, pope urges on Christmas Eve

Pope Francis celebrates Christmas Eve mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, December 24, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Saturday led the world's Catholics into Christmas, saying in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine and other conflicts that the level of greed and hunger for power was such that some wanted to "consume even their neighbours".

Francis, celebrating the 10th Christmas of his pontificate, presided at a solemn Christmas Eve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. It was the first with a capacity crowd of about 7,000 following several years of restricted attendance because of COVID.