Easter Sunday celebrations are held throughout the world

*Pope Francis appears at Vatican mass on Resurrection Sunday. *Christians attend Easter Eucharist in Jerusalem. teleSUR

Transcript

00:00And in Palestine, in Jerusalem, Christians took part in the Easter Eucharist in spite of the constant Israeli siege.

00:09This Sunday, Mass was officiated by Archivist Pieta Battista Passavala at the Holy Sepulchre Church,

00:16the place where, according to history, Jesus was buried.

00:20During the Eucharist, the priest underscored the fact that the empty tomb of Christ gives hope and confirmation to the Palestinian people

00:29that they will see justice made and that the promise of peace will be fulfilled.

00:35In his homily, Archivist Pieta Battista Passavala also reiterated that the Church's concern for the destruction

00:42and the grave humanitarian situation that Gaza is currently facing.

00:53Dear brothers and sisters, may the Lord give you peace and happy Easter.

00:57The empty tomb of Christ is a sign of proof and a proof to us that we will see justice,

01:08that hope will be fulfilled, that peace will be confirmed.

01:12We have no illusions.

01:15We know what is happening among us and in the world.

01:18And we do not have much hope in the ability of those in power to find solutions,

01:24which unfortunately seem to be even more distant.

01:28And we cannot but express our concern about a possible further deterioration, especially in Gaza.

01:34And meanwhile, Pope Francis, still convalescing from a respiratory infection,

01:43appeared on the balcony of the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica for the Urbi et Urbi blessing

01:50following Easter Sunday Mass.

01:52The Argentine pontiff, who remained seated on a wheelchair, wished for a happy Easter

01:57and asked the master of ceremonies, Diego Ravelli, to read the Easter message to the 35,000 people present there.

02:05The message called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages and of aid

02:10to those who are hungry but hoping for a peaceful future.

02:15Although it did not explicitly mention the Israeli aggression in Gaza,

02:18in the message, Pope Francis criticized the attacks on hospitals and against humanitarian workers.

02:23He also asked for prayers for the Christian communities in Lebanon and Syria

02:28and for Yemen, which is experiencing one of the world's worst protracted humanitarian crises due to the war.

02:40And also in Turkey, the faithful gathered at the Orthodox Church in Istanbul to celebrate Easter Sunday.

02:47Thousands of people came to the chapel to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

02:51The ceremony was officiated simultaneously to other similar ceremonies in Greece and Finland,

02:59marking the end of the Holy Week.

03:02The World Council of Churches is working towards religious unity and cooperation for a common Easter.