The schedule of Pope John Paul II's Christmas engagements might have been slightly cut back this year, but for any octogenarian it would still be more than a little exhausting.

Vatican View

As well as issuing an unexpected apostolic letter on the sacred liturgy Dec. 4, John Paul will have already presided over two key events this month even before embarking on his Christmas schedule: the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a homage to Mary Immaculate on Dec. 8 in Rome; and a Mass at St. Peter's Basilica for students of the Roman athenaeums, or RSG (Rome's pontifical universities), Dec. 11.

But the Holy Father will have little respite before the Christmas season gets into full swing. As well as meeting a number of state leaders and bishops from various regions on their once-every-five-year ad limina visits, he will also meet in private audience with many of the performers at this year's Vatican Christmas concert Dec. 13.

This year, an Algerian Muslim singer will be featured alongside artists from many other countries who will perform in the Paul VI Auditorium. Each year the Christmas concert helps generate income for new churches on the outskirts of Rome and has been attended by popes in the past. But as with last year, the Holy Father's message will be read to the audience and a dozen or so cardinals will represent the Holy See.

The Christmas season is a particularly magical time in Rome, with every church — and many a shop and hotel — displaying an ornate presepio (Nativity scene). And the solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, a time full of celebration of the birth of Jesus, is given rich symbolic significance by the traditional unveiling of the life-sized Nativity scene in St. Peter's Square just before midnight Mass begins.

The crib, which is the Holy Father's own idea, is truly enormous. The painstaking construction begins around the feast of Christ the King and remains the focal point of the square until February.

But it is midnight Mass that most will remember. The Pope will preside but is not expected to be the principal celebrant this year at a filled-to-capacity St. Peter's Basilica. The Holy Father's homily may well center on continuing conflicts around the world and a heartfelt call for peace — the war in Iraq was a great concern last Christmas to him and the world at large and is likely to be so again this year.

Then on the morning of the solemnity of the Birth of the Lord, the Pope, wearing gold-colored robes, will be driven in a white, open-topped vehicle through a crowded St. Peter's Square to deliver his Urbi et Orbi address. The term means “to the city and to the world” and signifies that he is speaking not only to the city of Rome but also to the entire Catholic Church.

The Holy Father's diary is then light until New Year's Eve, when he will preside over vespers and the Te Deum of thanksgiving at 6 p.m. The Te Deum is the ancient hymn in which Catholics express to God their deep thanks for all the good he has bestowed upon them for the past 12 months, and John Paul will deliver words of reflection on the Church.

Jan. 1 is the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and also the 37th World Day of Peace, during which the Holy Father will preside over Mass and speak on a theme chosen in advance. This year the theme is “International Law, a Path for Peace.” The Holy Father will underline the importance of law as a guarantee of international relations aimed at promoting peace among nations and allude to recent conflicts, including the war in Iraq. John Paul is likely to call on mechanisms and structures to assure justice and to remove the causes of potential conflicts.

In his present state of health, the Holy Father often can read only about a page of text, and it is likely he will have most of his homilies read for him.

But these days he is showing much vitality, and there is every reason to believe he will traditionally use this Christmas to speak as forcefully as ever about the state of the world and complete his engagements with as much gusto and zeal as he can muster. At 83 and suffering greatly from Parkinson's disease, he remains a forceful witness to a humanity thirsting for meaning and hope.

Edward Pentin writes from Rome.