Pope Francis called for a ceasefire in all war zones in his Sunday prayer on Christmas Eve, condemning the cruelty of bombing schools and hospitals in Ukraine and Gaza. Source: The Pope's speech was quoted by the AP news agency,

Pope Francis on Sunday lamented the ongoing war and violence affecting families in Gaza and other parts of the world in the lead-up to Christmas and called for a “ceasefire on all war fronts.”

The Pope used the occasion to continue Pope John Paul II’s Advent tradition of blessing statues of the child Jesus to be placed in Nativity scenes on Christmas Day. He blessed his own and pilgrims’ statues during the address, thanking them for their “simple but important gesture”.

In late November, during a brief audience with people involved in the sport of motorcycle racing, Pope Francis asked for prayers, joking that "my work is very accelerated, and my bike has aged and doesn't work properly!

I think of Gaza with great sorrow; so much cruelty, children hit by machine guns, schools and hospitals bombed,’ pontiff says - Anadolu Ajansı

Francis delivered his Sunday blessing from indoors with Vatican officials citing the cold weather and his upcoming busy Christmas schedule. #EuropeNews

Pope Francis on Sunday, December 22, once again reminded the world of Ukraine's suffering from the ongoing war and called for a "Christmas ceasefire" across the globe. — Ukrinform.