Orient Net. April 1, 2018 – Under tight security in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, Tens of thousands around the word thronged to a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis on Easter Sunday.

The pope began the day with a post on Twitter: “Our faith is born on Easter morning: Jesus is alive! The experience is at the heart of the Christian message.” He then delivered the papal blessing “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and to the World”) from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.

In his message on Sunday, the pope called for peace in a world marked by war and conflict. He cited a need to end the “carnage” in “the beloved and long-suffering land of Syria”; urged “reconciliation” in the Middle East; and pressed for “the fruits of dialogue” to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula. He also called attention to the “hunger, endemic conflicts and terrorism” suffered by parts of Africa.

Francis also touched on the problems in Venezuela, voicing hope that the country would “find a just, peaceful and humane way to surmount quickly the political and humanitarian crises that grip it.”