Pope delivers Easter message; Christian communities celebrate Jesus' resurrection
Pope Francis celebrated Easter Mass at the St. Peter's Basilica, and the Vatican streamed it live so anyone in the world with an Internet connection could take part in it.
The pope also presided the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening, and exhorted Catholics and everyone to not be imprisoned by fear and negativity.
"We see and will continue to see problems both within and without," he told a crowd that gathered at the St. Peter's Basilica, as quoted by Radio Vaticana. "Let us not allow darkness and fear to distract us and control us."
The message is timely, following the terror attacks and violence that have been taking place all over the world, the most recent high-profile one having happened in Brussels, Belgium on March 22. Two blasts at the Brussels airport and one in a metro station killed at least 30 and injured more than 300.
"Today is the celebration of our hope," the Pope said.
The message follows his act on Holy Thursday, wherein he washed and kissed the feet of Christian, Hindu and Muslum refugees, reminsicent of what Jesus did to his disciples.
"We have different cultures and religions, but we are brothers and we want to live in peace," he said, according the The Independent.
The "gesture of brotherhood" is in high contrast to the "gesture of war" that took place in Brussels and other parts of the globe. Reuters quotes what the Holy See said on Good Friday, decrying the "expressions of fundamentalism (and) terrorist acts committed by followers of some religions which profane the name of God and which use the holy name to justify their unprecedented violence."
All over the world, Christians are also celebrating Easter.
In Australia, according to ABC, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his wife attended mass at St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Wentworth, while Opposition Leader Bill Shorten attended mass at the St. Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne. There were also different messages. Monsignor Michael Keating of Perth's Catholic Cathedral of St Mary talked about the recent terror attacks, while Archbishop Phillip Aspinall of St John's Cathedral mentioned domestic violence an abuse.
In Istanbul, Daily Sabah reports that the country's largest Roman Catholic Church, St. Antony of Padua Church, held masses in English, Polish and Italian, starting with one at 10 a.m. and the last at 9 p.m. Other churches did the same.
The Archdiocese of Vancouver also announced that there are Easter Sunday Masses scheduled twice or more, depending on the church. Corpus Christi in Vancouver, for instance, has scheduled masses at 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., with the Cantonese version to be held at 3 p.m.
