Pope Francis, celebrating his first Christmas as pontiff, called on believers in the world’s religions — and even atheists — to unite in bringing peace in 2014 to Syria, the Sudan and other troubled spots.

“Peace is a daily commitment. It is a homemade peace,” he told some 70,000 cheering pilgrims crammed into St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Wednesday. “Wars shatter and hurt so many lives.”

Francis delivered the traditional papal “Urbi et Orbi” address — Latin for “To the City and to the World” — along with a prayer for protection for Christians under attack, battered women and trafficked children. He also prayed for peace in the Middle East and Africa, and dignity for refugees fleeing misery and conflict around the globe.

Speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the same spot where he emerged to the world as pope when he was elected on March 13, Francis also made an appeal for the environment to be saved from “human greed and rapacity.”

He departed from his prepared text by urging atheists to join forces with believers.

“I invite even nonbelievers to desire peace. Join us with your desire, a desire that widens the heart,” the 77-year-old pontiff said to sustained applause. “Let us all unite, either with prayer or with desire, but everyone, for peace.”

The appeal was another contrast with his more reserved predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who critics said sometimes left non-Catholics out of his remarks.

Francis also wore a plain white cassock, in contrast to Benedict, who stood on the same balcony exactly a year ago dressed in a crimson, ermine-trimmed cape.

In addressing world strife, Francis specifically called for “social harmony in South Sudan, where current tensions have already caused numerous victims and are threatening peaceful coexistence in that young state.”

He also urged a dialogue to end the conflicts in Syria, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq, and prayed for a “favorable outcome” to the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.

“Too many lives have been shattered in recent times by the conflict in Syria, fueling hatred and vengeance,” he said. “Let us continue to ask the Lord to spare the beloved Syrian people further suffering and to enable the parties in conflict to put an end to all violence and guarantee access to humanitarian aid.”

— with Post Wire Services