VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis in his Christmas Day address said he is praying for "our brothers and sisters in Iraq and Syria who for too long have been suffering the effects of the conflict under way"  and "undergo brutal persecution."

 Speaking from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica to thousands of pilgrims and faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Argentinian pontiff expressed the wish that Christmas will bring "hope" to Middle East refugees so they may "receive the necessary humanitarian help" and "return to their countries." 

 "Jesus is the salvation of every person and every people," said Francis in his traditional Urbi et Orbi (to the City and the World) message. "To Him, the Saviour of the World, I ask today that he protect our brothers and sisters from Iraq and Syria who for too long suffer the effects of the conflict under way and, together with those belonging to other ethnic and religious groups, undergo a brutal persecution." 

"May Christmas bring them hope as well as for the numerous homeless and refugees, children, adults and old people in the region and the whole world; change the indifference to neighbourliness and rejection to welcome, so that those who are now tried can now receive the necessary humanitarian help to survive the rigours of winter, allow them to return to their countries and live with dignity," the pope said.

Francis also called for peace in the Holy Land. "May the Lord open hearts to trust and give his peace to the Middle East, starting with the blessed land of his birth, sustaining the efforts of those who commit themselves tirelessly for dialogue between the Israelis and Palestinians."

The 78-year-old leader of the world's Roman Catholics also asked divine help for Ukraine and said that in world marked by "violence, wars and hatred" there is a great need for "tenderness."

On Wednesday the pope celebrated Christmas Eve mass in St Peter's Basilica to the strains of Mozart's Mass in D Minor, saying in his homily that Christmas "reveals to us that God is Father and his patient faithfulness is stronger than the shadows and corruption."

Also Wednesday the pontiff made a telephone call to Christians living in  a refugee camp at Ankawa near Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, telling them "you are like Jesus on the night of Christmas -- there was no place for him, he was chased away and had to flee to Egypt to save himself."