Pope calls for 'humble' Christmas, with savings sent to Ukraine

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Pope Francis called a "humble" Christmas this year on Wednesday, with savings made from reduced spending on gifts given to help the "suffering Ukrainian people" .

Francis called for “concrete gestures” of charity for Ukrainians this holiday season during his weekly general audience.

“It is good to celebrate Christmas and to throw parties, but let's reduce the level of Christmas spending a bit," he said. "Let's make a more humble Christmas, with more humble gifts, and send what we save to the Ukrainian people who need it."

Francis often spoke of the "martyred" people of Ukraine. since the invasion of Russia on February 24. The Vatican has organized humanitarian deliveries over the past few months, including a clothing drive this month to bring thermal clothing to Ukrainians suffering from the winter cold with reduced heating and electricity.

< p>"They are hungry, they are cold, so many people are dying for lack of doctors and nurses," Francis said. "Let's not forget them. Christmas yes, in peace and with the Lord, yes. But with the Ukrainians in the heart."

Francis recently sparked a new diplomatic spat with Moscow when he blamed most of the "cruelty" in Russia's war on Chechen fighters and other minorities , which he said were not "the Russian tradition. Russia's ambassador to the Holy See filed a formal protest with the Holy See after the remarks, and Russian officials said this week that the Vatican hadn't apologized yet.

In another gesture e Christmas, the Vatican said this week that Francis had sent letters to heads of state around the world asking them to undertake a "gesture of clemency" for eligible prisoners. Francis felt it could show "an openness to the grace of the Lord in a time marked by tension, injustice and conflict".