File Photo: Pope Francis (Associated Press)
Pope Francis is celebrating Christmas Eve with a late-night Mass in St. Peter's Basilica just days after excoriating his staff for a laundry list of sins.
Many of the same cardinals, bishops and priests who received the excoriation will be in St. Peter's Basilica for the Mass. Several have spoken out in recent days, saying Pope Francis was merely asking them to examine their consciences and use the Christmas season to heal.
Today's Mass kicks off a busy few weeks for the 78-year-old pontiff that includes his traditional Christmas day speech, New Year's Eve vespers and the 2015 greetings a few hours later.
On January 11, he'll baptize babies in the Sistine Chapel and a day later will board a plane for a week-long trip to Sri Lanka and the Philippines.