Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo presided over a New Year’s Eve vespers service, giving thanks for the 2025 Holy Year that brought millions to Rome.

The U.S.-born pope also lamented the situation for migrants and refugees who "traverse the American continent."

Hicks takes over one of the biggest U.S. archdioceses after Dolan, who is retiring, established a $300 million fund to compensate victims of sexual abuse.

Discussions over women becoming deacons, who are ordained and can assist with services but cannot celebrate Mass, have convulsed the 1.4 billion-member Church.

The new pontiff has been far more reserved than his outspoken predecessor. But many of their underlying progressive messages remain the same.

“The pope’s visit is a sign of hope,” the Rev. Miled Abboud told NBC News. “There are a lot of bleak things, of things that make us despair, but we have Christ, who gives us strength to carry on.”

The event ends the pontiff’s first international trip that took him to Muslim-majority countries with different Christian denominations.

The pontiff sought to lift the country's long-suffering people and bolster a crucial Christian community in the Middle East.

Leo undertook the tour "in a spirit of reflection and listening, with deep respect for the place and for the faith of those who gather there in prayer," the Vatican said.

Leo paid tribute to the country's tiny Catholic community and also visited a group of nuns, the Little Sisters of the Poor, who run a nursing home in Istanbul.

Ahead of his visit, Leo shared a Thanksgiving message with NBC News encouraging all people "to recognize that we have all received so many gifts."