DHAKA: 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.

‘Do we have the courage to welcome with tenderness the difficulties and problems of those who are near to us?’ the pope asked in Saint Peter’s Basilica, filled with some 5,000 worshippers.

‘Or do we prefer impersonal solutions, perhaps effective but devoid of the warmth of the Gospel? How much the world needs tenderness today!’ he said, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1317 HRS, DEC 25, 2014