VATICAN CITY, Dec 24: Pope Benedict urged the world on Sunday not to shut Christ out of Christmas and to banish prejudices hindering peace.

Speaking at his Sunday blessing the Pope returned to a theme that has preoccupied him -- the commercialisation of Christmas.

“May his birth not find us busy celebrating Christmas forgetting that he (Jesus) is the very person at the centre of the feast,” he told thousands of pilgrims and tourists in St Peter's Square on Christmas Eve.

Ahead of the second Christmas of his pontificate he urged his listeners to remember the many people around the world who would pass it “in solitude, in sickness and in suffering”.

The real spirit of Christmas was a commitment to “overcome prejudices, break down barriers and eliminate situations that pit individuals and people against each other in order to build a world of justice and peace together”, the Pope said.

In recent weeks he has spoken out against the decision by some state schools in Italy not to build the traditional nativity scene for fear of offending non-Christians in a multi-racial population.

The Pope looked on from his window and lit a candle symbolising the desire for peace in the world.—Reuters