On his first Easter Monday as Pope, Leo XIV appeared at the window of the Apostolic Palace under bright sunshine and clear skies to lead the Regina Caeli to thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
“Dear brothers and sisters, Christ is risen! Happy Easter!” He shouted. “This greeting, full of wonder and joy, will remain with us throughout the week. As we celebrate this new day that the Lord has made for us, the liturgy celebrates the entry of all creation into the time of salvation: the despair of death is cast away forever, in the name of Jesus.”
He added: “Today’s Gospel asks us to choose between two accounts: that of the women who encountered the Risen One, or that of the guards who were bribed by the leaders of the Sanhedrin.”
The women proclaim “the victory of Christ over death,” while the guards “proclaim that death always triumphs, no matter what,” the pope said, depicting two opposing versions of the same event. In the Guard’s version, Christ did not rise, “but his body was stolen,” the Pope recalled. This leads to the fact that “from the same event – ​​the empty tomb – two interpretations emerge: one of the source of new and eternal life, the other of fixed and certain death,” he explained.
This paradox “makes us reflect on the value of Christian witness and the honesty of human communication. Often, indeed, the telling of the truth is obscured by what we today call fake news – that is, lies, insinuations and unfounded accusations. Yet in the face of such obstacles, the truth does not remain hidden; on the contrary, it comes to meet us, alive and bright, illuminating even the densest darkness,” he adds.
Christ is the good news to be proclaimed in the world, he said: “The Lord’s Passover is our Passover, humanity’s Passover, because this man, who died for us, is the Son of God, who gave his life for us.”
Leo then turned his thoughts to “people suffering from war, Christians persecuted for their faith, and children deprived of education. Proclaiming Christ’s Passover in words and actions means giving new voice to hope that would otherwise be suppressed at the hands of the violent.”
Finally, he remembered Pope Francis, “who exactly one year ago, on Easter Monday, surrendered his life to the Lord. As we remember his great witness of faith and love, let us pray together to the Virgin Mary, the seat of wisdom, that we may be brighter heralds of truth.”
After reading the Marian prayer, Pope Leo XIV added a few more words: “I thank the initiatives promoted for the International Day of Sports for Development and Peace, and I renew the appeal that sport, with its universal language of fraternity, can be a place of inclusion and peace. I thank all those who have sent me Easter greetings these days. I am especially grateful for the prayers. Through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, may God bless each one with his gifts. Reward.”
He concluded: “I wish you a joyful and faithful celebration of this Easter Monday and these days of the Octave of Easter, during which the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ continues. Let us continue to invoke the gift of peace for the whole world.”
