Pope Francis begins Christmas celebrations at Vatican

by Julia Manchester - 12/24/17 3:54 PM ET

Pope Francis is set to receive Catholics from around the world for Christmas celebrations at the Vatican on Sunday and Monday.

{mosads}The pope’s first public Christmas appearance will take place at St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve, and will be followed by his Christmas Day message on Monday, which will be delivered from the central loggia of the basilica over St. Peter’s Square.

The Catholic leader delivered a Christmas Eve message on Twitter on Sunday.

Contemplating the Baby Jesus, with His humble and infinite love, let us say to Him, very simply: “Thank you for doing all this for me!”

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) December 24, 2017

The celebrations come after Callista Gingrich presented her credentials to the pope on Friday, officially becoming the U.S. envoy to the Vatican.

The pope has found himself at odds with the Trump administration on a variety of issues including immigration, climate change and the president’s recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

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