Pope Francis has used his Easter Monday message at the Vatican to plead for victims of kidnapping to be released and allowed to return home.
Addressing a crowd of 20,000 in St Peter's Square, the Pope also said a special prayer for people with autism to mark World Autism Day, designated as such by the United Nations.
"I wish each of you to spend these days of the Easter Octave in serenity, in which the joy of the Resurrection of Christ is prolonged. Take every opportunity to witness the peace of the risen Lord especially in regard to the most fragile and disadvantaged. In this regard, I wish to secure a special prayer for the World Awareness Day of Autism, which is being celebrated today.
"We invoke the gift of peace for the whole world, especially for the populations that suffer most from the ongoing conflicts. In particular, I renew my call for those kidnapped or unjustly deprived of liberty to be released and to return to their homes," he said. Happy Easter Monday! Please do not forget to pray for me. Good lunch and goodbye and: "Truly the Lord has risen".
He delivered these two messages after appearing at the window of the study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Regina Coeli with the faithful and pilgrims in the square, according to the Vatican.
He explained that the Monday after Easter is called "Monday of the Angel", from the gospel narratives describing how the women went to the sepulchre and found it open, and heard a voice from wthin say Jesus was not there, but had risen.
For the first time the words are pronounced: "He is risen". Pope Francis said: "The evangelists tell us that this first announcement was given by angels, that is, messengers of God. There is a meaning in this angelic presence: how to announce the Incarnation of the Word was an angel, Gabriel, so also to announce for the first time the Resurrection was not enough a human word. It took a superior being to communicate a reality so shocking, so incredible, that perhaps no man would dare to pronounce it."
Pic: Pope Francis celebrates the Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican on April 1, 2018. Thousands submitted to heavy security checks to hear the Pontiff's message of peace in the "Urbi et Orbi'. Photo by Stefano Spaziani/UPI
Loading ...
