The pontiff told crowds gathered at the Vatican for his Christmas Eve Mass: "You may have mistaken ideas, you may have made a complete mess of things, but the Lord continues to love you." Thousands of Palestinians and foreigners converged on the "little town" in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, with Christmas Eve festivities taking place in and around the Church of the Nativity. And French Catholics endured a sad moment as Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris was unable to hold Christmas Eve Mass for the first time since 1803 -- after a fire ravaged its structure in April. "It isn't the same feeling but it's still a Christmas Mass," said 16-year-old Juliette, who had made the 700-kilometre trip from Aix with her family. But in Hong Kong chaos broke out in an upscale shopping centre after pro-democracy protesters planned a series of Christmas Eve demonstrations.

Source: Philippine Star December 24, 2019 22:18 UTC