Thousands gather for Easter Service at the Vatican
Posted Apr 5, 2015 8:28 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Pope Francis prayed for peace — especially in Syria and Iraq — during Easter Sunday mass at the Vatican.
He urged the international community to not stand by before the immense humanitarian tragedy unfolding there.
Francis also made specific references to conflicts in Libya and Yemen, and asked the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to remember the young people killed Thursday at Garissa University College in Kenya.
Christians in the Holy Land and across the world are celebrating Easter, commemorating the day followers believe Jesus was resurrected in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago.
The cavernous Holy Sepulcher church in Jerusalem was packed with worshippers on Sunday. The site is where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.
A Mass is expected later in Bethlehem’s Nativity Church, built atop the site where Christians believe Jesus was born.
Catholics and others are celebrating Easter whereas Orthodox Christians, who follow a different calendar, were marking Palm Sunday with processions.
In his homily, Pope Francis said the Easter mystery requires the faithful to seek an answer “to the questions which challenge our faith, our fidelity, and our very existence.”
