VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis is celebrating Christmas Eve with a late-night Mass in St Peter's Basilica just days after excoriating his staff for a laundry list of sins.
Many of the same cardinals, bishops and priests who received the dressing down will be in St Peter's Basilica for the Mass. Several have spoken out in recent days saying Francis was merely asking them to examine their consciences and use the Christmas season to heal.
Pope Francis led Christmas Eve mass in the Vatican calling for "tenderness" and "warmth" after a violence-plagued year as millions of Christians began marking the holiday.
The Argentine pontiff's brief homily was replete with Gospel references in his Christmas Eve mass, broadcast live in 3D for the first time.
The Mass kicked off a busy few weeks for the 78-year-old pontiff that includes his traditional Christmas day speech, New Year's Eve vespers and 2015 greetings a few hours later.
On Jan 11, he will baptize babies in the Sistine Chapel and a day later board a plane for a week long trip to Sri Lanka and the Philippines.
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