VATICAN— Candlelight illuminated St. Peter’s Basilica during the Easter Vigil Mass on Holy Saturday where Pope Francis’ homily, read on his behalf, proclaimed the resurrection of Christ as “the definitive turning point in human history.”
“It falls to us to proclaim this Easter hope, this ‘turning point’ where darkness becomes light,” the pope wrote in the homily, delivered by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals.
“The risen Christ … is the hope that does not fade. He is the love that accompanies us and sustains us,” he said. “He is the future of history, the ultimate destination towards which we walk, to be welcomed into that new life in which the Lord himself will wipe away all our tears and ‘death, mourning and crying and pain will be no more.’”
Although Pope Francis did not preside at the liturgy due to his ongoing recovery from a recent hospitalization for double pneumonia, he made a surprise appearance in the basilica about two hours before the Mass. He paused to pray and greeted some of the pilgrims who had been waiting for hours for the Easter Mass at the Vatican.
The pope, who has delegated cardinals to preside over all Holy Week events, entrusted the Easter Vigil to Cardinal Re. The Mass included the blessing of the new fire, the lighting of the Paschal Candle, and the singing of the Exsultet, a hymn recalling the story of salvation from creation to Christ’s resurrection.
Thirty-four cardinals, 24 bishops, and about 250 priests processed silently through the dark basilica with lit candles, symbolizing the light of Christ overcoming darkness.
The basilica gradually became illuminated throughout the liturgy until the Gloria, when bells rang out and the altar was revealed adorned with Easter flowers.
During the vigil, three people from Italy and Albania were baptized. The congregation prayed the Litany of the Saints and renewed their baptismal promises.
“In the risen Jesus we have the certainty that our personal history and that of our human family, albeit still immersed in a dark night where lights seem distant and dim, are nonetheless in God’s hands,” the pope wrote. “In his great love, he will not let us falter, or allow evil to have the last word.”
Referencing the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis encouraged the faithful to “let the hope of Easter blossom” in their lives.
“When the thought of death lies heavy on our hearts … when we feel the wounds of selfishness or violence … let us not lose heart,” he wrote. “The light quietly shines forth, even though we are in darkness … and a new beginning, however impossible it might seem, can take us by surprise.”
Pope Francis called on Christians to become messengers of this Easter hope through daily acts of love.
“We can do this by our words, by our small daily acts, by decisions inspired by the Gospel,” he wrote. “Our whole life can be a presence of hope. We want to be that presence for those who lack faith in the Lord … for those who have given up … for the poor and oppressed … for the unborn and for children who are mistreated; and for the victims of war. To each of them let us bring the hope of Easter!”
According to the Vatican, Cardinal Angelo Comastri, vicar general emeritus of Vatican City, is scheduled to preside over Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square.
