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It is the only answer to war. “May the grace of the Risen Lord give comfort and hope to all who suffer, may no one be abandoned, may quarrels, wars and disputes give way to understanding and reconciliation,” said the Pope. Francis also addressed the issue of fear. “All our fears stem from one great fear, the fear of death: fear of disappearing, fear of losing loved ones, of illness, of not making it anymore. But at Easter, Jesus conquered death.” said the Holy Father.
After a two-year break due to the pandemic, thousands of pilgrims gathered again in St. Peter’s Square for Easter Monday prayers. The “Regina Caeli” (Queen of Heaven) replaces the Angelus prayer during the Easter season.
Pope: Peace for “suffering Ukraine”
During his Easter blessing on Sunday, Francis called for peace for the “suffering Ukraine” and reminded of the suffering of the people in several conflict areas. Again several thousand people had gathered on the square and cheered the Pope. “We have seen too much bloodshed, too much violence,” he said in his traditional address to around 100,000 believers in St. Peter’s Square in Rome.
The Holy Father began the Easter celebrations on Maundy Thursday with the traditional washing of feet in the prison in the city of Civitavecchia north of Rome. On Good Friday he followed the Stations of the Cross from the Palatine Hill above the Colosseum, which commemorates the Passion of Jesus.
Source: Nachrichten
