The Easter of the Catholics was celebrated today with brilliance and impressive rituals. Crowds attended the Vatican service.
In a symbolic gesture, Pope Francis christened the immigrant who became a hero, disarming a robber in a supermarket.
Pope Francis called on Catholics today to stop "the ongoing extermination" in Syria and to bring about "reconciliation in the Holy Land," where bloody clashes erupted on Friday in his traditional Easter message.
After an unplanned sermon on the service of Easter and the Resurrection of the Lord in St. Peter's Square, and then greeting from his car 80.000 worshipers and tourists who had gathered, the Pope left at noon on the main balcony of his Basilica St. Peter for his Easter speech after which he gave the traditional blessing "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city of Rome and the universe).
As usual, the Pope wished "the fruits of peace (to be tasted) by the whole world", giving an overview of all countries plagued by conflict.
It started in Syria, "whose people have been exhausted by an endless war" and which has so far left behind more than 350.000 dead and millions of refugees. The pope called on "all political and military officials" to "immediately stop the raging annihilation", also calling for respect for "humanitarian law" and access to aid, referring to eastern Guta.
Pope Francis also called for "reconciliation in the Holy Land, which is still suffering these days from open conflicts affecting defenseless people."
Draconian security measures in Rome
The Pope specifically encouraged the "dialogue" that continues on the Korean Peninsula, after two years of escalation due to Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic tests. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un spoke about the denuclearization of the two Koreas, while an inter-Korean summit will be held on April 27.
The Primate of the Roman Catholic Church did not miss the African continent "plagued by famine, endemic conflict and terrorism" and expressed hope that peace would prevail in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two countries of which he is deeply concerned. .
Francis also reminded that Easter should be a symbol of hope "where there is misery and exclusion, hunger and unemployment", citing refugees who "have so many times been disapproved of by today's culture of rejection", victims of drug traffickers or drug addicts. slaves.
On Saturday night for Catholics, the Argentine Pope officiated the Easter vigil at St. Peter's Basilica and asked the faithful to break their silence about "the injustices that live in the skin of so many brothers. us". He also baptized eight worshipers, including a 31-year-old Nigerian man who monopolized the front pages of Italian newspapers in Rome in September when he arrested an armed criminal shortly after a supermarket robbery.
Believers, tourists and even priests had to form long queues this morning to reach St. Peter's Square, passing strict security measures. Italian authorities have mobilized 10.000 police, saying Easter is a time of high risk, especially in the Christian capital, following the arrests this week of radicalized and potentially dangerous individuals.