Rome, the faithful in St. Peter’s square for the Easter mass
Pope francesco presided over the Sunday mass of Easter in St. Peter’s square. The celebration, which began with the “Resurrexit” rite, was attended by around 45,000 Roman faithful and pilgrims from all over the world. The Pontiff then delivered the traditional message from the Loggia delle benedizioni “City and World“in which he prayed for the pace: “Help the beloved Ukrainian people – Bergoglio said in fact – on the path towards peace, and shed the paschal light on the Russian people”.
In St. Peter’s Square, according to what was communicated by the Vatican authorities, there were 45 thousand people at the beginning of the celebration of the Easter Mass, which gradually increased up to the time of the Blessing, so as to arrive at an estimate by the Gendarmerie of 100 thousand presences.
“Comfort the wounded and those who have lost their loved ones due to the war and ensure that the prisoners can return safely to their families – the Pope then continued -. Open the hearts of the entire international community so that it strives to put an end to this war and to all the conflicts that are bloodying the world“.
Prayer for the Holy Land Pope Francis in his invocation to the Risen Jesus therefore expressed “deep concern for the attacks of the last few days which threaten the desired climate of trust and mutual respect, necessary to resume dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians”. The Holy Father entrusted to the Lord Lebanon, “still in search of stability and unity”, Tunisia and Haiti, ” who has been suffering from a serious socio-political crisis for several years”, then asked Jesus to support the international community “in seeking a definitive solution to the many problems that afflict that population so troubled”.