The Mass also marked the Jubilee Year, launched on Christmas, with Francis noting that 'Mary is the door through which Christ entered this world,' quoting St. Ambrose.

Pope Francis ushered in the New Year with an appeal for the faithful to reject abortion, calling for a “firm commitment” to protect and respect life from conception to natural death

Pope Francis called for the protection of life at New Year’s Day Mass on Wednesday, offering a seemingly anti-abortion message. “Let us entrust this new year to Mary, Mother of God,” Francis said in his homily at Saint Peter’s Basilica.