Pope Francis reiterated his call to a high immediate fire in Gaza in a message from Easter Sunday read aloud by an assistant when the pontiff, he still recovered from pneumonia, observed during a brief appearance on the main balcony of the Basilica of San Pedro.
The 88 -year -old Pope, who limits his workload in the orders of doctors, did not preside over the mass of the Vatican for Easter, but appeared at the end of the event for a blessing and a message twice a year known as the “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world).
Before a five -week hospital stay for pneumonia, which almost killed him, Francis had been increasing criticism of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave “very serious and shameful” in January.
In Easter Message, the Pontiff said that the situation in Gaza was “dramatic and deplorable.”
“I express my closeness to sufferings […] of all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people, ”said the message.
“I appeal to the parts at war: call a high fire, release the hostages and accelerate a hungry people who aspires to a future of peace,” he said.
Last week, Hamas rejected an Israeli proposal for another temporary truce, instead of demanding an agreement to end the war in exchange for the liberation of hostages.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that he had ordered the Israeli army to intensify the pressure on Hamas.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health says that 1,600 people have been killed in the last month.
Previously, the press service of the Holy See has said that the Pope hopes to attend, but has not confirmed his participation, insisting that it depends on his health.
That did not prevent the crowds of faithful from gathering on Sunday under nebulous skies in the extensive square decorated with bright colored tulips in front of the Basilica of St. Peter, hoping to take a look at the Jesuit Pope.
Marie sends, 59, from Cameroon, was one of those who thought positive.
“Of course we hope to see the Pope, but if he is not here and is still suffering, we will see his representative,” she said AFP.
“But we want to see the Pope, even sick, we want to see it!” Indian tourist Rajesh Kumar, 40, said he had no idea that he was Easter when he reserved his vacation with his wife.
“After coming here, we realized that there is a festival, the Pope will give a speech, so we only enter and we are ready for it,” he said.
The Pope’s voice is still weak, despite the improvements in his breathing. In the last week, Francis has appeared in public twice without the nasal cannula through which he has been receiving oxygen.
He could delegate the reading of his Easter text, generally a reflection on conflicts and crises worldwide, to another person.
For the first time since it became Pope in 2013, Francis has lost most of the events of Holy Week, such as Friday’s cross stations at the Colosseum and Easter vigil on Saturday in the Basilica of Saint Peter, where he delegated his duties to the cardinals.
However, he made a brief appearance within the Basilica on Saturday, where he prayed and gave some children among visitors.
The organizers expect even larger crowds than usual due to jubilee, a “holy year” in the Catholic Church that appears once every century of century and attracts thousands of pilgrims to the eternal city.
Christian rarity
The weekend was also notable for the presence of American vice president Vance in Rome.
On Saturday he had conversations with the Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary of the Holy See for relations with the States.
That occurred only two months after a dispute between Francis and the administration of US President Donald Trump about his antimigrant policies.
Neither the Vatican nor the Vice President’s office have commented on any possible meeting between Francis and Vance, and it was unknown if the vice president planned to attend Sunday’s Mass.
Cardinal Italian Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the Cardinals College, presided over the solemn Easter vigil on Saturday night instead of Francis.
Francis made an official commitment this Holy Week, visiting a prison in Rome, but did not carry out the traditional feet washing ritual, which seeks to imitate the washing of Jesus Christ of his disciples.
Asked by a journalist after his visit what he felt about this Easter Week in his current condition, the Pope replied: “I am living the best I can.”
This year’s Easter is unusual, since the same weekend falls into the Catholic and Protestant branches of Christianity, which follow the Gregorian calendar and the Orthodox branch, which uses the Julian calendar.
