Pope Francis greeted believers, but Urbi et orbi did not read

Vatican. Pope Franciswhich is recovering from severe pneumonia, has granted his traditional blessing Urbi et Orbi on Easter Sunday.

In the speech he said that « the growing atmosphere of anti -Semitism around the world is disturbing, and at the same time condemned the situation in Gaza band and reiterated his challenge for a ceasefire.

He also called for a continuation of the effort to reach peace in Ukraine.

The eighty -eight -year -old Pope traditionally presented the blessing of « Urbi et orbi » from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after Mass on the occasion of Easter Sunday. The Pope also grants this solemn blessing for other important feasts in the life of the Church.

Francis, however, missed the Sunday Mass, which instead of him in the Square of St. Peter before thousands of believers served Cardinal Angelo Comastri.

At the beginning of the blessing, the Holy Father denied the believers the blessed Easter and then asked to read the Easter message for him, which, according to AFP, personally heard approximately 35,000 people.

In the message, the Pope noted that this year’s Easter celebrates Catholics and Orthodox at once.

« I think of the inhabitants of Gaza and especially the Christian community, where the terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and creates a dramatic and pitiful humanitarian situation, » said the Pope’s traditional Easter speech, given by a collaborator.

He called on all the opposing parties to stop fire, release hostages, helped people who starve and long for peace in the future.

He also called for prayers for Christian communities in Syria and Lebanon. « I also think of the inhabitants of Yemen, where the war caused one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, » he continued.

He called for all interested parties to continue their efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine. He also mentioned African nations plagued by conflicts, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and South Sudan.

« Peace cannot exist without the freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for others, » he said. He noted that peace is not possible without real disarmament, and the effort to protect its country, according to the Pope, must not turn into an arms race.

František is currently recovering for 38 days of hospitalization, during which he fought in the Roman hospital with a life -threatening bilateral pneumonia.

Before the start of the Mass, the media informed that it was not clear whether the Pope would attend a Sunday ceremony for his health.

On Green Thursday, the Pope visited the prison of Regina Coeli In the Roman district of Trastevere south of the Vatican. He met approximately 70 prisoners and after the prayer of each of them he personally greeted. He told the prisoners that he could not wash their feet as it is usually during this holiday, but he said he was praying for these prisoners and their families.

According to AFP, the Pope, for the first time since his election, missed most of the events of the Great Week, such as the Friday Stations of the Cross in the Roman Colosseum, and Saturday’s Easter vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica, where he delegated his duties to cardinals. On Saturday night František briefly appeared in a wheelchair in St. Peter’s Basilica

Approximately 300 cardinals, bishops and priests participated in the Sunday Easter Mass, AFP writes.

The organizers expected even larger crowds of people than usual in appearance of the holy year 2025 (jubilee) of the Catholic Church. DPA said that this year’s Easter was expecting a million visitors in Rome.