JAKARTA - Pope Francis highlighted and prayed for a number of countries and regions that are currently being hit by crises in his Easter Sunday message, his first appearance in front of the faithful after being hospitalized late last month.
The pope, 86, led a solemn Easter Mass in sunny St. Peter's Square after unusually cold weather forced him to skip mass outdoors on Friday, a precaution after being hospitalized with bronchitis in late March.
Pope Francis climbed onto the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to deliver his biannual "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message and blessing, addressing a crowd estimated at 100,000 people.
There, from the same spot where he first appeared before the world as pope on the eve of his election in 2013, he spoke of the "darkness and gloom that often surrounds our world", and prayed to God for peace.
"Help the dear people of Ukraine in their journey towards peace, and shine Easter light on the people of Russia," said the Pope, launching Reuters on April 9.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, Francis at least twice a week has called Ukraine and its people "martyrs" and used words such as aggression and cruelty to describe Russia's actions.
On Sunday, the Pope asked God to "comfort the wounded and all those who have lost loved ones to war, and allow prisoners to return safely to their families. Open the hearts of the entire international community to work towards ending this war and all conflicts." and bloodshed in our world."
As he has done every Easter, the Pope called for peace in the Middle East, highlighting the recent violence in Jerusalem and the cross-border firefights involving Israel, Lebanon, and Syria.
"On this day, Lord, we entrust to You the city of Jerusalem, the first witness of Your resurrection. I express deep concern over the attacks these past few days threaten to threaten the climate of trust and mutual respect that is expected to be necessary for continued dialogue between Israel and Palestine, so that peace may reign in the Holy City and throughout the region," said the Pope.
It is known that Israeli-Palestinian tensions have escalated sharply since last week's Israeli police raid on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, which caused outrage across the Arab world.
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In his message, Pope Francis also alluded to instability in Lebanon, expressed the hope that "martyred Rohingya people" in Myanmar "can find justice", and called for more aid for victims of the February earthquake that killed nearly 56,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
Whereas in the part of the speech in which he mentioned Nicaragua, the Pope asked God to "remember all those who are prevented from freely and openly professing their faith".
Relations between the government and the Catholic Church in Nicaragua are very tense. The government, which has frozen diplomatic ties with the Vatican, banned outdoor Holy Week processions this year.
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