Together with thousands of faithful and pilgrims, Pope Francis participated in the Easter Vigil ceremony this evening in St. Peter’s Basilica. For the first time, the Pope, who suffered from knee and hip pain, was unable to perform the Easter Vigil Mass. Instead, he watched the service from a chair in front of the pews. The main celebrant was Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals. Pope Francis himself read the sermon.
About 5,500 people attended the ceremony. The rite began in the atrium of St. Peter’s Basilica with the blessing of the fire and the lighting of the paschal candle. Upon entering the cathedral while it was still dark, the candles of the priests and then those of all the faithful were lit to the sound of the Latin call “Lumen Christi” (Light of Christ).
The Pope then entered the church in a long procession with cardinals and bishops. The candles symbolize the resurrection of Jesus, which is celebrated by Christians all over the world. The Liturgy of the Word and the Baptismal Liturgy followed.
In his homily, the Pope asked that Jesus Christ “be brought into everyday life: with gestures of peace in this time marked by the horrors of war; with works of reconciliation in broken relationships and compassion for the needy; with acts of justice in the midst of inequalities and truth in the midst of lies. And above all with works of charity and fraternity”.
Ukrainian Embassy
At the end of his homily, the Pope addressed the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, who was present with three deputies in St. Peter’s Basilica after being received by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. “In this darkness you are experiencing, Mr Mayor, ladies and gentlemen of Parliament, the darkness of war and cruelty, we all pray with you, we pray for so much suffering.
Only we can give you our accompaniment, our prayer and our encouragement, and we accompany you. We can also say what is the biggest thing we celebrate today: ‘Christ is risen,'” the Pope said, uttering these last words in Ukrainian.