Pope Leo XIV on Easter Sunday called for peace throughout the world, urging Christians to carry the hope of the Resurrection into a world wounded by war, violence, and injustice.
"May Christ, our Passover, bless us and give his peace to the whole world!" the pope said at the end of his homily during Easter morning Mass in St. Peter's Square on April 5.
Celebrating his first Easter as pontiff before a packed St. Peter's Square decorated with traditional Dutch flowers, Leo centered his homily on the Resurrection as God's answer to sin, death, and despair.
"Today all of creation is resplendent with new light, a song of praise rises from the earth, and our hearts rejoice: Christ is risen from the dead, and with him, we too rise to new life!" he said.
The pope said the Easter proclamation "embraces the mystery of our lives and the destiny of history," reaching humanity even "in the depths of death, where we feel threatened and sometimes overwhelmed."
"It opens us up to a hope that never fails, to a light that never fades, to a fullness of joy that nothing can take away: death has been conquered forever; death no longer has power over us!" he said.
Leo acknowledged that this Christian message is not always easy to accept because "the power of death constantly threatens us, both from within and without."
"From within, this power threatens us when the weight of our sins prevents us from 'spreading our wings' and taking flight, or when the disappointments or loneliness we experience drain our hope," he said. "It likewise looms over us when our worries or our resentments suffocate the joy of living, when we are sad or tired, or when we feel betrayed or rejected."
He added that death also appears in the world around us.
"From without, death is always lurking. We see it present in injustices, in partisan selfishness, in the oppression of the poor, in the lack of attention given to the most vulnerable," he said. "We see it in violence, in the wounds of the world, in the cry of pain that rises from every corner because of the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because of the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth's resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys."
Against that backdrop, the pope said Easter calls Christians to rediscover hope in the risen Christ.
"In this reality, the Passover of the Lord invites us to lift our gaze and open our hearts," he said. "It sets us in motion, like Mary Magdalene and the Apostles, so that we may discover that Jesus' tomb is empty, and therefore in every death we experience there is also room for new life to arise."
"The Lord is alive and remains with us," Leo continued. "Through the cracks of resurrection that open up in the darkness, he entrusts our hearts to the hope that sustains us: the power of death is not the final destiny of our lives."
The pope also cited Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, recalling that the Resurrection is not simply a past event but a living power at work in the world even amid injustice and cruelty.
Looking to the Gospel of John's account of Easter morning, Leo said Christ's Resurrection took place on "the first day of the week," linking Easter to the first day of creation and the dawn of a new humanity.
"Brothers and sisters, Easter gives us this hope, as we remember that in the risen Christ a new creation is possible every day," he said.
"Easter is the new creation brought about by the Risen Lord; it is a new beginning; it is life finally made eternal by God's victory over the ancient enemy."
He concluded by exhorting Christians to become witnesses of that hope in the world.
"We need this song of hope today," the pope said. "It is ourselves, risen with Christ, who must bring him into the streets of the world."
"Let us then run like Mary Magdalene, announcing him to everyone, living out the joy of the resurrection, so that wherever the specter of death still lingers, the light of life may shine."
This story was originally published by ACI Stampa, EWTN News' Italian-language partner agency. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
