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Before you get to all the presents under the tree on Christmas morning, there’s a Christmas Eve service that believers can take part in worldwide. In the US, NBC will televise the annual midnight mass from St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican in Rome led by Pope Francis, starting at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT.
If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of NBC on your computer, phone, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV or other streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming subscription services:
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FuboTV
NBC (live in most markets) is one of 95-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle.
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch a live stream of the Christmas Eve Mass on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which allows you to watch most shows and events up to three days after they air even if you forgot to record them.
AT&T TV Now
AT&T TV Now (formerly DirecTV Now) offers six different channel bundles. They range from 45 to 125 live TV channels, and they all include NBC (live in most markets). The “Plus” and “Max” packages come with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for AT&T TV Now, you can watch a live stream of the Christmas Eve Mass on your computer via the AT&T TV Now website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or other compatible streaming device via the AT&T TV app.
If you can’t watch live, AT&T TV Now — no matter what channel package you choose — comes with included cloud DVR.
Hulu With Live TV
NBC (live in most markets) is included in Hulu With Live TV, which comes with 60-plus live TV channels and Hulu’s extensive on-demand library of TV shows and movies:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch a live stream of the Christmas Eve Mass on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” comes with both its extensive on-demand library (which has most new shows and events available after they air) and 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
2019 Pope Francis’ Christmas Eve Midnight Mass Preview
Officially called “The Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord — Midnight Mass,” this annual tradition is something Catholics the world over tune into on Christmas Eve. In preparation for the service, the Vatican press office has been offering Christmas wishes and greetings on its website. The first is a reminder about what Christmas means to followers of Christ.
“Once again this year, the Lord gives us the opportunity to gather for this moment of fellowship which strengthens our fraternity and is grounded in our contemplation of God’s love revealed at Christmas … our exchange of Christmas greetings is yet another chance to respond to Christ’s new commandment: ‘Even as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another’ (Jn 13:34-35).
“Jesus does not ask us to love him in response to his love for us; rather, he asks us to love one another as he does. In other words, he asks us to become like him, since he became like us. As Saint John Henry Newman prayed: ‘May each Christmas, as it comes, find us more and more like Him, who at this time became a little child for our sake, more simple-minded, more humble, more holy, more affectionate, more resigned, more happy, more full of God.’ And he went on to say: ‘[Christmas] is a time for innocence, and purity, and gentleness, and mildness, and contentment, and peace.'”
And the second is to remind believers of God’s smile and how it can work in their lives every day.
“Today let us exchange this wish: at Christmas, participating in the Liturgy, and also contemplating the manger, let us wonder at God’s smile, which Jesus came to bring. It is He Himself, this smile. Like Mary, like Joseph and the shepherds of Bethlehem, let us welcome Him, let us allow ourselves to be purified, and we too can bring others a humble, simple smile.
“Thank you all! Take this wish to your loved ones at home, especially the sick and the elderly. And let us remain united in prayer. Merry Christmas!”
In addition to the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, the Vatican also celebrates the “Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord” on Christmas Day and the “Feast of St. Stephen Protomartyr” on December 26.
The 2019 Christmas Eve Mass airs Tuesday, December 24 from 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET/PT on NBC.
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