Pope Francis looks back on the past year with gratitude. In St. Peter's Basilica he celebrated Vespers with a solemn “Te Deum” – as thanks for 2023, despite all the crises and catastrophes.
Here you will find the text of the sermon given by Pope Francis on Sunday night in the solemn “Te Deum” in St. Peter's Basilica, in a practical translation from Vatican Radio. …
“Ave, maris stella” (Hail, star of the sea) was sung by the choir at the beginning of the liturgy: this ancient hymn is sung on Marian feasts. And in fact it was not St. New Year's Eve is the content of vespers, but rather the eve of the Solemnity of the Mother of God, which the church celebrates on January 1st.
“Faith allows us to live this hour differently than with a worldly mentality,” said Francis in his homily. “Faith in Jesus Christ, God incarnate, born of the Virgin Mary, gives us a new meaning of time and life. I would sum it up in two words: gratitude and hope.”
The apparent feelings
Now, these are two feelings you may have at the end of the year, even if you are a non-Christian or a non-believer. But Francis called “worldly” gratitude or hope “only apparent”; They lack something very essential, namely “the relationship with each other and with others, with God and with brothers”.
Pope Francis leads the solemn Te Deum at the end of 2023 – reports Vatican Radio
“Instead, this liturgy breathes a completely different atmosphere: that of praise, admiration, gratitude. And this happens not because of the majesty of the basilica, not because of the lights and the songs – these things are rather the consequence – but because of the mystery that the antiphon of the first Psalm expresses: O wonderful exchange! He who created man takes human life and is born of a virgin. (…) He gives us his divine life.”
An experience only a mother can have
The liturgy allows us to “immerse ourselves in the feelings of the Church” – and thus, to a certain extent, in the feelings of Mary, the Mother of God. “Let us imagine what gratitude there must have been in Mary’s heart when she looked at the newborn Jesus. This is an experience that only a mother can have, but in her, in Our Lady, there is a unique and incomparable depth.”
The Church also learns hope from Mary, the woman of waiting. “The hope of Mary and the Church is not optimism, it is something else: it is faith in God, faithful to his promises (cf. Lc 1,55); and this faith takes the form of hope in the dimension of time… The Christian, like Mary, is a pilgrim of hope.”
Preparing for the Holy Year
“Pilgrims of Hope” – this is again the motto of the Holy Year 2025. Pope Francis called on the city of Rome to prepare well for the “giubileo”, not only spiritually, but also organizationally. He also provided a concrete example.
“The charm of the historic center of Rome is eternal and universal; but it must also be able to be enjoyed by elderly people or people with mobility disabilities; and “great beauty” must be accompanied by simple decency and normal functionality in the places and situations of ordinary everyday life. Because a more livable city for its inhabitants is also more welcoming for everyone.”
Allusion to a film
“Great Beauty” is “Grande Bellezza” in Italian – and that was the name of an Italian film about Rome from 2013 that even won an Oscar. It's not every day that a pope alludes to a radio amateur in a speech. But New Year's Eve is also something special…
After the celebration in St. Peter's Basilica, the Pope briefly visited the nativity scene in St. Peter's Square. While the musical corps of the Swiss Guard played Christmas carols, Francis prayed before the representation of the birth of Jesus – his last public appearance in 2023.
(Vatican news – sk)