Pope urges hope amid ‘darkness’ of pandemic in Easter vigil

ROME —
Pope Francis urged his coronavirus-weary flock to not lose hope even by means of the continued “darkish months” of the pandemic as he celebrated a scaled-back Easter vigil service in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday.

On account of social-distancing norms, solely about 200 masked individuals have been allowed to attend the service, which marks the interval between Christ’s crucifixion and his joyous resurrection on Easter Sunday.

For the second yr in a row, the Vatican minimize out the standard sacrament of baptism for a handful of adults to restrict the possibility of contagion. Often a protracted, late-night ritual, this yr’s vigil service additionally began sooner than ordinary to respect Italy’s 10 p.m. COVID-19 curfew.

However the service started within the dramatic means it all the time does, with the pope lighting a single candle within the darkened basilica after which sharing its flame with others till the pews slowly start to twinkle and the basilica’s lights are turned on.

In his homily, Francis stated Easter gives a message of hope and new begins.

“In these darkish months of the pandemic, allow us to take heed to the risen Lord as he invitations us to start anew and by no means lose hope,” he stated. “It’s all the time attainable to start anew, as a result of there’s a new life that God can awaken in us despite all our failures.”

Francis, who once more eschewed a facemask, limped significantly by means of the service, in an indication that he’s struggling by means of a chronic bout of sciatica nerve ache.

On Sunday, Francis is to preside over Easter Mass earlier than a equally small group of trustworthy and ship his conventional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing “to the town and the world.” Often the Easter Mass and blessing is well known earlier than tens of hundreds of individuals in a flower-decked St. Peter’s Sq..

However this yr Francis will have a good time the service within the basilica and ship the blessing from the altar, to forestall crowds from forming within the piazza.