On Sunday, April 9, 2023, Pope Francis invoked prayers for both the Ukrainian and Russian people and praised nations which welcome refugees in his Easter message.
The Pontiff also called on Israelis and Palestinians wracked by the latest surge in deadly violence to forge a “climate of trust.”
Pope Francis, along with dozens of prelates and tens of thousands of faithful, celebrated Easter Mass in a flower-adorned St. Peter’s Square, affirming the Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead.
Pope Francis crowned the celebration with a traditional speech about troubled places in the world. Encouraging “trust among individuals, peoples and nations,” Francis said Easter’s joy “illumines the darkness and gloom in which, all too often, our world finds itself enveloped.”
The pope’s Easter message is known by its Latin name, “Urbi et Orbi,” which means “to the city and the world.”
Since Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine in February 2022, the 86-year-old Pontiff has repeatedly called for the fighting to end and sought prayers for the “martyred” Ukrainian people.
Ukrainian diplomats have complained that the Pope has not come down hard enough in his statements on Russia and particularly Russian President, Vladimir Putin as the Vatican tries to avoid alienating Moscow.
In his Easter speech, Pope Francis implored God to “Help the beloved Ukrainian people on their journey towards peace, and shed the light of Easter upon the people of Russia.”
“Comfort the wounded and all those who have lost loved ones because of the war, and grant that prisoners may return safe and sound to their families,” the Pope added.
Pope Francis delivered his speech while sitting in a chair on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica facing the square.
The Pope urged the international community to work to end the war in Ukraine and “all conflict and bloodshed in the world, beginning with Syria, which still awaits peace.”
Also, Pope Francis prayed for those who lost loved ones in an earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey two months ago, claiming tens of thousands of lives.
With a renewal in deadly violence affecting both Israelis and Palestinians in recent days, Francis called for a “resumption of dialogue, in a climate of trust and reciprocal respect, between Israelis and Palestinians, so that peace may reign in the Holy City and in the entire region, ″ a reference to Jerusalem.
“Let Us Rejoice At The Concrete Signs Of Hope”
Pope Francis also noted progress on some fronts.
“Let us rejoice at the concrete signs of hope that reach us from so many countries, beginning with those that offers assistance and welcome to all fleeing war and poverty,” he said, without mentioning any particular nations.
Francis also prayed that national leaders “ensure that no man or woman may encounter discrimination” and that there would be “full respect for human rights and democracy.”
With migrants risking their lives in smugglers’ unseaworthy boats in hopes of reaching Europe, the Pope lamented that Tunisia’s people, particularly the young, struggle with social and economic hardship.
How to care for asylum-seekers, migrants and refugees, and whether to allow them entrance, is a raging political and social debate in much of Europe, as well in the United States and elsewhere.
Francis was hospitalized from March 29 to April 1, 2023, for treatment of bronchitis. Still recovering, he skipped the traditional Good Friday procession at Rome’s Colosseum due to unseasonably cold nighttime temperatures.
Near the end of the more than two-hour-long Easter Sunday appearance, Francis seemed to become weak. His voice grew hoarse and he interrupted his speech at one point to cough.
Nonetheless, the Pontiff made several rounds through the square in the pope mobile after the Mass, waving and smiling at cheering well-wishers.
According to the Vatican’s crowd count, about 100,00 people had flocked to the square for the Pontiff’s speech.
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