With the Christmas season fast approaching, Pope Francis on December 22, 2021, took the opportunity of the weekly General Audience to reflect on the birth of Jesus � an event that "history cannot dispense with." Recalling the familiar figures of Mary and Joseph in the stable at Bethlehem, the humble shepherds, and the rich and powerful Magi from the East, the Pope explained, "The message of the Gospel is clear: the birth of Jesus is a universal event that concerns all of humanity."