To the City and the World this Easter

“Here, in this world of ours, the Easter alleluia still contrasts with the cries and laments that arise from so many painful situations: deprivation, hunger, disease, war, violence. Yet it was for this that Christ died and rose again! He died on account of sin, including ours today, he rose for the redemption of history, including our own. So my message today is intended for everyone, and, as a prophetic proclamation, it is intended especially for peoples and communities who are undergoing a time of suffering, that the Risen Christ may open up for them the path of freedom, justice and peace”.

This was the message that Pope Benedict XVI broadcast to the city of Rome and the world this Easter, in his traditional Urbi et Orbi address. The sun came out to shine shortly before the Pope appeared on the balcony of the central loggia, adding to the festive cheer of the tens of thousands who packed not only St Peter’s square, but the streets surrounding the Vatican basilica all the way to the Tiber river. Tremendous cheers arose as the red velvet curtains parted and pilgrims cries mingled with the military bands tattoo of the national anthems of Italy and the Holy See.

“In resurrectione tua, Christe, coeli et terra laetentur! In your resurrection, O Christ, let heaven and earth rejoice!” proclaimed Pope Benedict, “May the Land which was the first to be flooded by the light of the Risen One rejoice. May the splendour of Christ reach the peoples of the Middle East, so that the light of peace and of human dignity may overcome the darkness of division, hate and violence”.

The Holy Father spoke in particular of the current conflict in Libya, calling for “diplomacy and dialogue” to take the place of arms and for “access to humanitarian aid” for suffering civilians. In the wider context of current crisis in Arab nations he prayed that especially young people, may work to promote the common good and to build a society where poverty is defeated and every political choice is inspired by respect for the human person”.

But he also called for “help from all sides” for people fleeing conflict and refugees from various African countries; “may people of good will open their hearts to welcome them, so that the pressing needs of so many brothers and sisters will be met with a concerted response in a spirit of solidarity”. The Pope also thanked all those men and women who are already generously helping these people in need describing theirs as an “exemplary witness”.

Pope Benedict’s thoughts then turned to Ivory Coast, where he prayed peaceful coexistence among the peoples be restored, calling for reconciliation and pardon to heal the deep wounds caused by the recent violence.

For Japan, the Holy Father prayed for “consolation and hope as it faces the dramatic consequences of the recent earthquake, along with other countries that in recent months have been tested by natural disasters which have sown pain and anguish”.


Earlier, during the open air Easter Sunday Mass celebration, the Holy Father venerated the icon of Our Most Holy Savoir, proclaiming the Risen Christ just as Peter was the first Apostle to announce to the world the Good News of Easter.

Following the Gospel, a choir drawn from the Eastern Churches gathered around the altar and chanted the Easter Troparion, or Christos anesti. This year the Western and Eastern days for Easter coincided.

Since early morning pilgrims and visitors had patiently queued to take part in the Easter Sunday liturgy, many of them families, many drawn from far afield and many fresh from the Easter Vigil Mass held the night before within St Peter’s, when the flickering flame of the Pascal Candle slowly illuminated the basilica’s vast vaults to the chant “Lumen Christi”, the Light of Christ.

The Easter Proclamation was chanted and then Liturgy of the Word began. Grounding his homily in the Word of God, the Holy Father noted that the Easter Vigil offers “us a panoramic view of whole trajectory of Salvation history”.

“The Church is not some kind of association that concerns itself with man’s religious needs but is limited to that objective”, rather she brings man into contact with God as Creator, and so “we have a responsibility for creation”.

We are the products of God’s creative Reason, said the Pope, and “we are faced with the ultimate alternative that is at stake in the dispute between faith and unbelief: are irrationality, lack of freedom and pure chance the origin of everything, or are reason, freedom and love at the origin of being? Does the primacy belong to unreason or to reason? This is what everything hinges upon in the final analysis”.

And so to the notes of great Easter Marian antiphon, Regina caeli, the curtains were drawn across the central loggia Sunday midday, as the sea of pilgrims spilled from St Peter’s square and the Pope retired to rest from a demanding Triduum schedule. At least until next week, when on the first Sunday in the Octave of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI will lead celebrations for the beatification of his venerable predecessor, John Paul II.

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