Pope Francis condemned the cruelty of the war in Ukraine at the Easter Vigil Mass, which he attended but did not lead, probably due to leg pain which has reduced his activity.
The mass was attended by Ivan Fedorov, mayor of Melitopol, whom Russian forces captured and later released in an exchange of prisoners last month.
Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re replaced the pope during the service, as part of which a procession was held on the central nave of St. Peter’s Basilica in almost complete darkness.
The Pope was sitting on a large white chair, but he stood to read from the Gospel.
The pope amended a previously prepared text to point to the presence of Fedorov, his family and three Ukrainian members of parliament sitting in the front row.
“We all pray for you and with you. We pray because there is so much suffering, and we can only give you our company and our prayers. And to tell you: be brave, we are with you”, said Pope Francis, ending his address by saying “Christ is risen” in Ukrainian.
Photo: Paul Haring