The Catholic archbishop called the Easter message a new beginning, traveling new paths and reaching the borders.

Amid the restrictions brought on by the coronavirus epidemic, the Easter Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome took place on the night of Holy Saturday under the leadership of Pope Francis. The ceremony began an hour and a half earlier than usual, adapting to the vigils held in the churches of Italy, which ended before ten o’clock at night due to epidemiological regulations.

A limited number, around two hundred, were present in St. Peter’s Basilica, most of them priests. The number was the same Friday night at the intersection of St. Peter’s Square.

The evening vigil of Holy Saturday traditionally begins in the vestibule of the basilica, but now the archbishop was at the main altar. In the completely dark basilica, only the Pope came to light, blessing the fire and lighting the paschal candle, which lit the candles held in the hands of those present. Many tiny candles lit the huge basilica.

Pope Francis traveled from the main altar to the nearby cathedral altar, and in the meantime, the lights in the basilica were turned on. The silent bells of the basilica also rang for three days, leaving Rome again for the temples of the world. The usual baptisms did not take place at the ceremony.

In his homily, Pope Francis called the Easter message a new beginning, a new path, and a path to the frontiers.

It is always possible to start over, because there is always the possibility of a new life, despite all our failures, God can make a masterpiece out of the ruins of our hearts, just as He can make a new story out of the fallen pieces of our hearts. heart. humanity “.

Said the archbishop. He stressed that despite the “dark months” of the pandemic, hope should not be lost either.

He urged us to follow new paths in the lives of believers, affirming that faith cannot become a memory or a habit that “now touches us, does not address us.”

He said that Jesus cannot be treated as a past character of his time, lost as an old friend, because “Jesus lives, here and now, moving with you in the situation you are going through, in the difficulties that you are experiencing.”

Finally, Pope Francis spoke of Galilee, to which the disciples returned after the death of Jesus. He described the ancient countryside as the frontier, the edge of the world and today’s society, where the excluded, the weak, the poor, the lost, the discouraged live, as is the case in the “corners of our cities” today.

Nobody lasts, nobody is excluded “

– expressed the Pope, who urged daily love to transcend borders and prejudices.

On Sunday morning, Pope Francis will present the festive mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, which the Vatican, like all ceremonies to date, will broadcast on the Internet. At noon he relates his message from the basilica and then delivers the Urbi et Orbi blessing to the city of Rome and to the world. The traditional central theme of the Easter message is peace, and Pope Francis lists the areas of the world affected by conflict, hunger and social tension. As happened last year at Easter and this year at Christmas, the epidemic situation will not be left out of the discourse either.



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Péter Erdő: We are not afraid that believers will run away from the church due to restrictions



MTI
Life + Style

On the occasion of Easter, the cardinal spoke that due to the epidemic that lasted a year, many were bitter, but found that the systems of care, family, parishes and parish had been strengthened despite the isolation.