Pope prays for both Ukrainians and Russians in Easter message
Heather Hunter
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Pope Francis on Sunday gave prayers for both the Ukrainian and Russian people, asking God to “shed the light of Easter on the people of Russia” and help Ukrainians on “their journey towards peace.” His Easter message also spoke about the other conflicts in the world.
“Help the beloved Ukrainian people on their journey towards peace, and shed the light of Easter upon the people of Russia. Comfort the wounded and all those who have lost loved ones because of the war, and grant that prisoners may return safe and sound to their families. Open the hearts of the entire international community to strive to end this war and all conflict and bloodshed in our world,” Francis said Sunday to a crowd of 45,000 people in St. Peter’s Square.
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Russian leader Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, and Francis has repeatedly called for prayers to the people involved in the conflict and for an end to the war. In February, he called the war in Ukraine “absurd” and “cruel” while calling for a ceasefire.
In March, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said any “call for a ceasefire” in Ukraine is “unacceptable.”
Last month, the pontiff said in an interview that the conflict was fueled by “imperial interests, not just of the Russian empire, but of empires from elsewhere.”
In his Easter message, he also spoke about the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and called on them to forge a “climate of trust” amid the fatal violence in their region.
Francis further called on the world community to “pursue paths of peace and fraternity.”
“Let us make haste to surmount our conflicts and divisions and to open our hearts to those in greatest need. Let us hasten to pursue paths of peace and fraternity,” the pontiff said on social media on Sunday.
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He closed his remarks on Sunday with the message, “May you, the Lord of life, encourage us on our journey and repeat to us, as you did to the disciples on the evening of Easter: ‘Peace be with you! Peace be with you! Peace be with you!'”
This weekend was one of the first times the 86-year-old pontiff has been seen publicly after being hospitalized for and recuperating from bronchitis.
He presided over an Easter vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica Saturday night, and on Sunday, the pope spoke before tens of thousands of Christians in St. Peter’s Square for Easter Mass. The still-recovering pontiff had to skip Good Friday’s nighttime procession at the Colosseum due to chilly weather in Rome.
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2005 was the last time a pontiff missed Holy Week events, when Pope John Paul II was ailing and then died eight days later.
Last month marked the 10th anniversary of Francis’s election to the papacy, and he said that he would resign if he lost the capacity to govern the church. His predecessor Benedict XVI died last December at age 95, and in 2013, he was the first pontiff to resign in about 600 years.