The service was attended by Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Melitopolis, who was arrested by Russian forces last month and later released on bail. read more Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re replaced the pope as head of the liturgy, which included a procession in almost complete darkness to the main church of the largest church in Christendom. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register The Pope sat in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in a large white chair on the side, appeared alert and stood while reading the Gospel. He read his sermon sitting but in his normal voice and later baptized seven adults converted to Catholicism. The pope withdrew his text to acknowledge the presence of Fedorov, his family and three Ukrainian lawmakers sitting in front of him. He spoke of the “darkness of war, of cruelty.” “We all pray for you and with you. We pray because there is so much suffering. We can only give you our company, our prayers and say ‘courage, we accompany you,’” said Francis. He ended by saying “Christ is Risen” in Ukrainian. Pope Francis speaks as he attends the Easter Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, April 16, 2022. REUTERS / Guglielmo Mangiapane read more The Vatican said that Francis met privately with the Ukrainian delegation before the operation. The presidency of the Liturgy, which was attended by 5,500 people, would require long periods of standing during the chanting and evangelical readings, dedicated to the altar. The 85-year-old Pope suffers from sciatica, which causes pain in one leg and results in severe lameness. Recently, Francis also had an exacerbation of pain in his right knee. The situation seems to come and go. A program released by the Vatican on Friday named the pope as the high priest in Saturday afternoon service. The Vatican has not given a formal reason for the change. On Friday afternoon, the pope was well enough to walk the entire aisle both at the beginning and end of a Good Friday service in the basilica, but did not fall to the floor as he usually does during this service. He had to restrict some of his travels during a trip to Malta in early April and also had to ask a cardinal to support him in a Liturgy in December. The activities of Holy Week, which culminate on Sunday, mark the first time since 2019 that the public is allowed to attend after two years of restrictions due to COVID-19. On Easter Sunday, the most important day in the Christian liturgical calendar, he is to hold a Liturgy in St. Peter’s Square and then deliver the message and blessing “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) twice a year. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Philip Pullella. Edited by: Christina Fincher and Daniel Wallis Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
