Pope appeals to Russians on Ukraine, decries Middle East violence, in Easter message
- ‘Help the beloved Ukrainian people on their journey towards peace, and shed the light of Easter upon the people of Russia’
- Francis has regularly referred to Ukraine and its people as being ‘martyred’; on Sunday he also urged dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians
Pope Francis appeared to ask Russians to seek the truth about their country’s invasion of Ukraine in his Easter message to the world on Sunday and appealed for dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians following recent violence.
Francis, 86, presided at a solemn Easter day Mass in a sunny St Peter’s Square after unseasonal cold forced him to skip an outdoor service on Friday, a precaution following his hospitalisation for bronchitis at the end of March.
A carpet of 38,000 flowers donated by the Netherlands bedecked the square for the most important and joyous date in the Church’s liturgical calendar, commemorating the day Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead. Honour units of Vatican Swiss Guards and Italian Carabinieri police – both in ceremonial dress – stood at attention.
But the traditional pomp and sacred singing then gave way to modern realities. Francis later went up to the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica to deliver his twice-yearly “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message and blessing, addressing a crowd the Vatican estimated at about 100,000.
There, from the same spot where he first appeared to the world as pope on the night of his election in 2013, he spoke of “the darkness and the gloom in which, all too often, our world finds itself enveloped”, and prayed to God for peace.
“Help the beloved Ukrainian people on their journey towards peace, and shed the light of Easter upon the people of Russia,” he said.
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