Pope’s Easter message renews call for Israel-Gaza ceasefire, release of hostages
- ‘I appeal once again that access to humanitarian aid be ensured, and call once more for the prompt release of hostages and for an immediate ceasefire’
- The 87-year-old arrived in a wheelchair to preside over Sunday’s mass, a key part of the Catholic calendar, with the event broadcast live around the world
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Pope Francis on Sunday renewed his calls for the release of Israeli hostages and an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as fresh truce negotiations between Israel and Hamas were due to begin.
“I appeal once again that access to humanitarian aid be ensured to Gaza, and call once more for the prompt release of the hostages seized on October 7 and for an immediate ceasefire in the Strip,” the 87-year-old said in his Easter message in the Vatican, as concerns persist over his health.
After arriving in a wheelchair he delivered a 10-minute homily in Italian, with the event broadcast live around the globe. He spoke without any undue difficulty and condemned “the walls of selfishness and indifference” in the world.
“How much suffering we see in the eyes of children, the children have forgotten to smile in those war zones. With their eyes, children ask us: Why? Why all this death? Why all this destruction? War is always an absurdity and a defeat,” Pope Francis said.
At the end of the two-and-a-half-hour service he showed little sign of fatigue, taking time to greet and bless some of the worshippers.
On Saturday he took part in the Easter Vigil service at the Vatican, a day after the last-minute cancellation of his presence at a major Good Friday procession revived questions about his health.
The pontiff arrived to preside over the service at Saint Peter’s Basilica in front of thousands of pilgrims from around the world.
The Vatican had confirmed earlier in the day that the pontiff would attend.
Pope skips Good Friday procession at last minute ‘to preserve his health’
In a brief statement on Friday, the Vatican had said that “to preserve his health ahead of tomorrow’s vigil and the Easter Sunday mass, Pope Francis will this evening follow the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum from the Santa Marta Residence”, where he lives.
“The Via Crucis of a fragile pope” was the Saturday headline in Italian daily newspaper La Stampa, while Il Messaggero spoke of a “renunciation of Francis”.
A Vatican source told Agence France-Presse on Friday that there was “no particular concern” about his health, and that the decision to pull out had been “simply a measure of caution”.
The Argentinian Jesuit had also cancelled his participation in the “Via Crucis” in 2023, but that followed a three-day hospital stay for bronchitis, and was announced well ahead of time. Weeks later, he underwent a hernia operation.
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Pope Francis washes the feet of 12 female inmates in break with Holy Week past
Holy Week is a pillar of the Catholic calendar, involving a series of ceremonies leading up to Easter Sunday itself.
Up until Friday, the pope had attended his various Holy Week engagements, but he has recently appeared tired and has sometimes delegated speaking roles to colleagues.
But in a memoir published this month, Francis wrote that he did “not have any cause serious enough to make me think of resigning”.
Resignation is a “distant possibility” that would be justified only in the event of “a serious physical impediment”, he wrote.
Additional reporting by Reuters
