Advent and Christmas in Rome
***This page has been updated with information for 2025, but is subject to change.
As the Church prepares for and celebrates the birth of Christ during Advent and the Christmas season, Rome is filled with beautiful traditions. Below are some recommendations to help you plan your pilgrimage to Rome during this Holy Season.
In addition to the events listed below, the Holy Father is also expected to lead the Angelus prayer on Sundays at 12:00 (noon) in St. Peter’s Square and to give a General Audience most Wednesdays in December and January (except on Christmas Day).
December 5, 2025 – Mass in English by the Tomb of St. Peter
On the first Friday of each month, we would like to invite you to join us for Mass in English, celebrated in the crypt of St. Peter’s Basilica – right by the tomb of St. Peter.
The Mass begins at 7:15 a.m., but we recommend arriving at the Basilica at 6:45 a.m. to allow time to pass through security. The meeting point inside the Basilica is outside the sacristy (close to the St. Joseph Altar). If you have difficulties finding it, please look for the Sisters in navy blue habits, and they will show you where to go.
Saturday December 6, 2025 Unveiling of the Nativity Scene in St. Peter’s Square
Likely on Saturday, December 6, 2025, the Nativity Scene in St. Peter’s Square will be unveiled, and the Christmas tree will be lit up for the first time. This site will be updated with more information when it becomes available.
On Saturday morning, 6 December, there will be a Jubilee audience with Pope Leo at 10 AM in St. Peter’s Square. No tickets are required to attend the Saturday Jubilee audiences. We recommend arriving by 8:30 AM to pass through security before the audience begins.
The tree and Nativity Scene will likely remain on display until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which will end the Christmas season, on Sunday, 11 January 2026.
December 8 – Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is a public holiday in Rome, and the traditional beginning of the Christmas season in Italy.
At 12:00 noon, the Holy Father will lead the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square. At 4:00 p.m., Pope Leo XIV may continue the tradition of going to the Spanish Steps for the traditional act of veneration of Mary Immaculate.
Why Piazza di Spagna? On December 8, 1857, a statue of the Immaculate Conception was placed on top of a nearly 40-foot high column near the Spanish Steps to commemorate Pope Pius IX’s promulgation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary three years earlier. In 1953, Pope Pius XII begun the tradition of the Holy Father visiting the statue to place flowers at the feet of Mary and to ask for her prayers for the world. Rome’s firefighters than have the special mission of taking one of the Holy Father’s wreathes of flowers and place it on the arm of the statue. The tradition has been continued by the popes succeeding him, often also including a visit to the icon of Maria Salus Populi Romani in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major.
No tickets are required to attend the ceremony at the Spanish Steps, but pilgrims are advised to arrive early, about 2:30 p.m., and to be prepared for large crowds.
Visit the Crèches in the Churches of Rome
For the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the churches in Rome will begin to put up their crèches. During your Advent pilgrimage to Rome, you can join the Italian families who often travel to Rome not only for their Christmas shopping, but most importantly to take their children on a little pilgrimage to visit not only the crèche in St. Peter’s Square, but also to spend an afternoon visiting different churches to pray by the crèche scenes there.
100 Presepi in Vaticano
Each year, the Vatican puts up an exhibition with 100 crèche scenes under the left-hand side colonnade in St. Peter’s Square. The nativity scenes come from all over the world and are made of different materials. Previous years have featured not only more traditional ones but also crèche scenes made from chocolate or with pencil stumps.
The exhibition, promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, will be open from December 8, 2025 until January 6, 2026. The exhibition is open from 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. each day. More information about the free exhibition can be found at www.100presepi.it/en/.
December 12 – Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
In the evening of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pope Leo XIV is expected to celebrate a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in honor of the Patroness of the Americas. If you would like to request tickets for this Papal Mass, you may do so here. If your ticket request is granted, you will hear directly from the Prefecture of the Papal Household. Please note that tickets to this Mass are very limited; however, pilgrims who are not granted tickets may be able to find a spot to watch the Mass from St. Peter’s Square.
December 24 – Christmas Eve Mass with the Holy Father
On Christmas Eve, the Holy Father traditionally celebrates Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at 7:30 PM. Tickets for Christmas Eve Mass with the Holy Father are unfortunately very hard to obtain, since this Mass is celebrated inside St. Peter’s Basilica. However, you can try to request tickets through the Prefecture of the Papal Household, using this link: Christmas Eve Mass.
Other Christmas Masses in Rome:
St. Mary Major (Masses in Italian)
*More information will be available closer to December.
The Pantheon (Mass in Italian)
Wednesday, December 24 – Christmas Eve
11:55 PM Midnight Mass with music by the Pantheon Basilica Choir.
Thursday, December 25 – Christmas Day
10:30 AM Christmas Mass with music by the Pantheon Basilica Choir.
December 25 – Christmas Day Mass in English in Santo Spirito in Sassia
We would like to invite you to join us for the celebration of Holy Mass in English, offered every Sunday and on Christmas Day at the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia, 9:00 a.m. The Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia is only three blocks from St. Peter’s Square on Via dei Penitenzieri 12 (00193 Roma) and has been hosting pilgrims to Rome since the 8th century. The Mass will end in good time for you to attend the Holy Father’s Urbi et Orbi blessing.
December 25 – Urbi et Orbi
On Christmas Day each year at 12:00 noon, the Holy Father gives the Urbi et Orbi (‘to the city [of Rome] and to the world’) blessing together with a Christmas greeting from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica. The Urbi et Orbi is the most solemn form of blessing in the Catholic Church, reserved for the most solemn of all occasions, including Christmas, Easter and the proclamation of a newly elected pope after a conclave. The tradition goes back to the 13th century, when Pope Gregory X instituted this form of blessing.
Catholics who devoutly receive the Urbi et Orbi blessing may also receive a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, which are:
- Sacramental confession within 8 days before or after receiving the blessing.
- Attending Mass and receiving Holy Communion within 8 days before or after receiving the blessing.
- Praying for the intentions of the Holy Father (traditionally an ‘Our Father’, a ‘Hail Mary’ and a ‘Glory Be’)
- Having no attachment to sin, including venial sin.
Since 1985, this indulgence is granted not only to the people in St. Peter’s Square, but also to those who though unable to be physically present, “piously follow” it by radio or television.
Formulæ of apostolic blessing in Latin and English
LATIN
Sancti Apostoli Petrus et Paulus: de quorum potestate et auctoritate confidimus, ipsi intercedant pro nobis ad Dominum.
℟: Amen.
Precibus et meritis beatae Mariae semper Virginis, beati Michaelis Archangeli, beati Ioannis Baptistae et sanctorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli et omnium Sanctorum, misereatur vestri omnipotens Deus; et dimissis omnibus peccatis vestris, perducat vos Iesus Christus ad vitam æternam.
℟: Amen.
Indulgentiam, absolutionem, et remissionem omnium peccatorum vestrorum, spatium veræ et fructuosae pœnitentiae, cor semper paenitens, et emendationem vitae, gratiam et consolationem Sancti Spiritus; et finalem perseverantiam in bonis operibus tribuat vobis omnipotens et misericors Dominus.
℟: Amen.
Et benedictio Dei omnipotentis, Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, descendat super vos et maneat semper.
℟: Amen.
ENGLISH
May the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in whose power and authority we trust, intercede for us before the Lord.
℟: Amen.
Through the prayers and merits of Blessed Mary, Ever Virgin, Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint John the Baptist, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and all the saints, may Almighty God have mercy on you and forgive all your sins, and may Jesus Christ bring you to everlasting life.
℟: Amen.
May the almighty and merciful Lord grant you indulgence, absolution and the remission of all your sins, a season of true and fruitful penance, a well-disposed heart, amendment of life, the grace and comfort of the Holy Spirit and final perseverance in good works.
℟: Amen.
And may the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, come down on you and remain with you forever.
℟: Amen.
December 31 – Vespers and Te Deum
Traditionally, the Holy Father concludes the year with presiding at the Te Deum and First Vespers for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God in the evening of New Year’s Eve. It has long been a custom in Catholic churches to sing the Te Deum, the hymn of thanksgiving par excellence, on New Year’s Eve, to thank God for all of the blessings received over the course of the previous year, and then to invoke His blessings for the coming year. In Rome, the Pope and cardinals resident in the city traditionally attended the Te Deum ceremony on December 31st at the church of the Holy Name of Jesus, popularly known as “il Gesù”, the mother church of the Jesuit order. In recent years, however, the liturgy has generally been celebrated at St Peter’s, together with First Vespers of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and Eucharistic Benediction.
The liturgy is usually held in St. Peter’s Basilica on December 31 at 5:00 p.m. The tickets for the Te Deum and First Vespers for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God with the Holy Father are unfortunately very limited, since this liturgy is celebrated inside St. Peter’s Basilica. However, you can try to request tickets through the Prefecture of the Papal Household, using this link: Prefecture of the Papal Household.
In case tickets are not granted, many of the other churches in Rome also have beautiful liturgies for the Te Deum on December 31. One such option is at the Pantheon, with information below. You will be able to find more information about other churches’ Te Deum celebrations on their websites closer to December.
The Pantheon (liturgy in Italian)
Wednesday, December 31, at 5:00 PM
Vigil Mass of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and singing of the Te Deum of thanksgiving. Music by the Pantheon Basilica Choir.
January 1 – Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
To inaugurate the new year and to place it under the protection of Mary, the Mother of God, the Holy Father traditionally presides over a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on New Year’s Day at 10:00 AM. Tickets for the Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, with the Holy Father are unfortunately very limited, since this Mass is celebrated inside St. Peter’s Basilica. However, you can try to request tickets through the Prefecture of the Papal Household, using this link: Prefecture of the Papal Household.
Following the Papal Mass, the Holy Father also leads the Angelus and gives his Apostolic blessing in St. Peter’s Square at 12:00 noon. No tickets are required to attend the Angelus.
January 6 – Solemnity of Epiphany
Epiphany is a big feast in Italy – the kings arrive in the nativity scenes, and the good witch Befania brings sweets to the kids. It is also the last great Solemnity of the Christmas season, and the Holy Father therefore presides at Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at 10:00 AM. Tickets for the Mass for the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord on January 6, 2026, are unfortunately very limited, since this Mass is celebrated inside St. Peter’s Basilica. However, you can try to request tickets through the Prefecture of the Papal Household, using this link: Prefecture of the Papal Household.
January 12 – Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
On January 12, the Holy Father has traditionally celebrated a Mass for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in the Sistine Chapel and baptized newborn children of Vatican employees. The tradition was begun by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1981, and the Mass, since 1983, has been celebrated in the beautiful Sistine Chapel.
The process for choosing the children who will have the privilege to be baptized by the Pope himself is supervised by the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, and is offered to children of couples married in the Church according to the Catholic rite. In order to be eligible, the child must be under one year old. Traditionally, they are the children of one of the Swiss Guards or of other lay officials of the Holy See and Roman Curia. Each child can be accompanied by four guests: the two parents and the godfather and the godmother; the rest of the family can follow the ceremony live through Vatican Media.
Because of the strict space limitations in the Sistine Chapel, it is not possible to request tickets for this Papal Mass. However, the Mass is usually broadcast on the big screens in St. Peter’s Square, and the Holy Father will come to his office window at 12:00 noon to lead the Angelus and give his Apostolic blessing.
