ROME — Pope Francis on Sunday used the Christmas Eve Mass that amplifies his voice around the globe to focus on refugees and migrants, drawing a parallel between their travails and that of the holy family at the time of the birth of Jesus.

Recalling that Mary gave birth to Jesus in a manger because “there was no place for them in the inn,” Francis highlighted the biblical story in a present day in which the White House has restricted travel for people from predominantly Muslim countries, the Myanmar military has carried out ethnic cleansing against a stateless Rohingya minority, and wars, human trafficking and the indifference of wealthy nations have resulted in millions of families languishing in squalid refugee camps.

Using the example of the holy family to emphasize the “dangers that attend those who have to leave their home behind,” Francis noted that in Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary found a city “that had no room or place for the stranger from afar,” and which “seemed to want to build itself up by turning its back on others.” Instead, the pope said, Jesus “comes to give all of us our document of citizenship.”

Since his election in 2013, Francis has spoken out for refugees, and often says the families fleeing conflict or economic hardship are the heirs of his religion’s prophet. In Bangladesh a few weeks ago, he spoke of neighboring Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority, saying, “The presence of God today is also called Rohingya.”