MISSION AND MINISTRY | Each year, Pope Francis delivers an Easter message, addressed to the city of Rome and to the entire world, and then offers a prayer of God’s blessing for all. Pope Francis’ “Urbi et Orbi” message this year is timely and much needed, for he proclaims the Christian message of Easter hope at a time of great fear and anxiety as the world confronts the COVID-19 pandemic.
The following text is a selection from Pope Francis’ “Urbi et Orbi” message delivered on Easter Sunday inside an empty St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome following the celebration of Mass:
“Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!
“Today the Church’s proclamation echoes throughout the world: ‘Jesus Christ is risen!’ – ‘He is truly risen!’
“Like a new flame, this Good News springs up in the night: the night of a world already faced with epochal challenges and now oppressed by a pandemic severely testing our whole human family. In this night, the Church’s voice rings out: ‘Christ, my hope, is risen!’ (Easter Sequence).
“This is a different ‘contagion,’ a message transmitted from heart to heart – for every human heart awaits this Good News. It is the contagion of hope: ‘Christ, my hope, is risen!’ This is no magic formula that makes problems vanish. No, the resurrection of Christ is not that. Instead, it is the victory of love over the root of evil, a victory that does not bypass suffering and death, but passes through them, opening a path in the abyss, transforming evil into good: This is the unique hallmark of the power of God.
“The Risen Lord is also the Crucified One, not someone else. In His glorious body He bears indelible wounds; wounds that have become windows of hope. Let us turn our gaze to Him that He may heal the wounds of an afflicted humanity.
“Today my thoughts turn in the first place to the many who have been directly affected by the coronavirus – the sick, those who have died and family members who mourn the loss of their loved ones, to whom, in some cases, they were unable even to bid a final farewell. May the Lord of life welcome the departed into his kingdom and grant comfort and hope to those still suffering, especially the elderly and those who are alone. May he never withdraw his consolation and help from those who are especially vulnerable, such as persons who work in nursing homes, or live in barracks and prisons. For many, this is an Easter of solitude lived amid the sorrow and hardship that the pandemic is causing, from physical suffering to economic difficulties ….
“In these weeks, the lives of millions of people have suddenly changed. For many, remaining at home has been an opportunity to reflect, to withdraw from the frenetic pace of life, stay with loved ones and enjoy their company. For many, though, this is also a time of worry about an uncertain future, about jobs that are at risk and about other consequences of the current crisis.…
“This is not a time for indifference, because the whole world is suffering and needs to be united in facing the pandemic. May the Risen Jesus grant hope to all the poor, to those living on the peripheries, to refugees and the homeless. May these, the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters living in the cities and peripheries of every part of the world, not be abandoned. Let us ensure that they do not lack basic necessities (all the more difficult to find now that many businesses are closed) such as medicine and especially the possibility of adequate health care.
“May Christ, who has already defeated death and opened for us the way to eternal salvation, dispel the darkness of our suffering humanity and lead us into the light of his glorious day, a day that knows no end.”
[Original text: Italian]
© Libreria Editrice Vatican
