Pilgrims are lining up to walk through the great Holy Door at the entrance of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome as Christmas marks the start of the 2025 Holy Year celebration.

Pope Francis inaugurated his Holy Year at Rome’s main prison on Thursday, bringing a message of hope to inmates and involving them in the Catholic Church’s once-every-quarter century celebration that is expected to bring some 32 million pilgrims to Rome.

He made the remarks a day after the start of the Roman Catholic Church’s Holy Year, known as a Jubilee, which takes place every quarter century. On Tuesday evening, Francis opened the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica so that the first pilgrims could go through. Millions more are expected to follow over the year.

Prior to offering his blessing "urbi et orbi," Francis prayed for peace in Ukraine, the Holy Land, Lebanon and Syria, and in Africa.

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