Pope Francis celebrates Easter mass in St. Peter’s Square
Posted March 31, 2013 10:16 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
An estimated 250,000 people attended Francis’s first Easter as pope on Sunday in a solemn yet joyful service in St. Peter’s Square.
Under blue skies and sunshine in a square bedecked by more than 40,000 plants and flowers, the pope wore relatively simple white vestments, as opposed to his predecessor Benedict who preferred more elaborate robes.
The huge crowd spilled out of St. Peter’s Square and into surrounding streets and included many who hope the new pope will renew a Church marred by scandals involving child sexual abuse and allegations of corruption.
Easter Sunday, the day Christians believe Jesus was resurrected from the dead after his crucifixion, was the culmination of four hectic days of activity for the pope, during which he instituted several novelties.
On Holy Thursday, two women were included among the 12 people whose feet he washed and kissed during a traditional ceremony that had previously been open only to men.
Francis is still living in the same Vatican guesthouse where he stayed during the conclave which elected him the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, instead of moving into the regal papal apartments in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.
Francis took his name in honour of St. Francis of Assisi, who is revered as a symbol of austerity and the importance of the natural world.
