The Popes and the new year: a time for thanksgiving and hope
Vatican News••world
Key Points:
- The Church views the transition between years as a time for gratitude to God and trust in the Lord, emphasizing thanksgiving and hope to understand the past and welcome the future.
- Pope Paul VI highlighted the importance of valuing the present moment, urging reflection on time as the only experience we control, while Pope Benedict XVI stressed ending the year with thanks to God through the Te Deum hymn.
- Pope Leo XIV encouraged continuing as "pilgrims of hope," describing hope as a generative theological virtue that gives strength and new life beyond the conclusion of the Holy Year.
- Pope John Paul II described the new year as a blank page filled with unknown challenges and opportunities for good or evil, while Pope Francis emphasized kindness as a vital virtue to improve social
