In an Easter message highlighting hope, Pope Francis on Sunday called for prayers for the Ukrainian and Russian people, commended nations welcoming refugees and called on Israelis and Palestinians, who have been battered by the recent spate of deadly violence, to heal Creating a climate of trust.
Francis, along with dozens of prelates and tens of thousands of the faithful, celebrated Easter Mass in a flower-bedecked St. Peter’s Square, reaffirming the Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead days after his crucifixion.
The 86-year-old pope was recently hospitalized with bronchitis and was forced to miss Friday’s traditional “Way of the Cross” procession in Rome. The last pope to miss Holy Week services was Pope John Paul II in 2005, who died eight days later.
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Francis capped off the celebration with a traditional speech about troubled places in the world. Francis encouraged “trust among individuals, peoples and nations” and said the Easter joy “sheds light on the darkness and gloom that all too often shrouds our world”.
The Pope’s Easter message is known by the Latin name “Urbi et Orbi,” meaning “to the city and the world.”
Pope Francis gives the plenary blessing “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) from the central box of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican at the end of the Easter Sunday mass, Sunday, April 9, 2023. Alessandra Tarantino/AP
Since Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine in February 2022, Pope Francis has repeatedly called for an end to the fighting and requested prayers for the “martyred” Ukrainian people.
Ukrainian diplomats have complained that he has not been harsh enough in his comments on Russia, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in particular, as the Vatican tries not to offend Moscow.
“Help the beloved Ukrainian people on their way to peace and shine the Easter light on the Russian people,” Francis implored God in his Easter sermon, delivered from a chair on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. “Comfort the wounded and all who lost loved ones to the war and ensure prisoners can return to their families safe and sound.”
He called on the international community to work to end the war in Ukraine and “all the conflicts and bloodshed in the world, starting with Syria, which is still waiting for peace.”
Francis also prayed for those who lost loved ones in an earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey two months ago and claimed tens of thousands of lives.
In the face of renewed deadly violence affecting both Israelis and Palestinians in recent days, Pope Francis called for a “resumption of dialogue in a climate of trust and mutual respect between Israelis and Palestinians, so that there may be peace in the Holy City and among the Palestinians.” can entire region”, a reference to Jerusalem.
But Francis also noted progress on some fronts.
“Let us rejoice at the concrete signs of hope that are reaching us from so many countries, beginning with those who offer help and welcome to all those fleeing war and poverty,” he said, without naming specific nations.
How to care for and allow entry to asylum-seekers, migrants and refugees is a fierce political and social debate in much of Europe, as well as in the United States and elsewhere.
Francis also prayed that national leaders “ensure that no man or woman is discriminated against” and that “human rights and democracy are fully respected.”
As migrants risk their lives in smugglers’ unseaworthy boats hoping to reach Europe, the pope lamented that the people of Tunisia, especially the young, are struggling with social and economic hardships.
Dozens have died or gone missing in the past two weeks after attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Tunisia.
The Pope counted Lebanon and two African countries he visited this year – South Sudan and Congo – among the nations that need to end divisions and build reconciliation.
Speaking about Haiti, he appealed to “political actors and the international community to seek a definitive solution to the many problems plaguing these sorely tried people.”
The bloody conflicts cited by Francis contrasted with a riot of bright colors bestowed by orange-red tulips, yellow sprigs of forsythia and daffodils, hyacinths and other colorful seasonal flowers that adorned St. Peter’s Square. The flowers were transported in trucks from the Netherlands.
According to the Vatican, by the end of the Pope’s performance around 100,000 people had poured onto the square in time for the Pope’s speech.
A canopy at the edge of the steps in the square protected the Pope, who was back in the public eye for 12 hours after a 2.25-hour Easter Vigil ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica the previous evening.
Francis was hospitalized from March 29 to April 1 for treatment for bronchitis. Still recovering, he skipped the traditional Good Friday procession at the Colosseum in Rome due to unseasonably cold nighttime temperatures.
Towards the end of the more than two-hour performance on Easter Sunday, Francis seemed to run out of breath. His voice grew hoarse and he stopped at one point to cough.
Nevertheless, after the mass he made several laps in the popemobile across the square, waving and smiling at the cheering well-wishers.
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