Pope Francis calls for peace in Easter blessing

VATICAN CITY — Speaking to the largest crowd at St. Peter's Square this year, Pope Francis used his Easter blessing Sunday to call for world peace and defend the less fortunate.

About 150,000 gathered in crisp, cool weather to hear the pope's "Urbi et Orbi," Latin for "to the city and the world," address, which in many ways serves as a precursor to next week's canonizations of former popes John XXIII and John Paul II.

Francis used Easter, one of the most important dates on the Catholic calendar, to call for an end to the use of "deadly force" against defenseless populations in Syria, for the easing of tensions in Ukraine and for an end to the "brutal terrorist attacks" in Nigeria, as well as violence in Iraq, South Sudan and throughout the world.

Speaking from the "loggia" — the same central balcony where he first appeared as pope 13 months ago — Francis called for the "resumption of negotiations between Israel and Palestine," a symbolic note coming five weeks before his first trip as pontiff to the Holy Land.

The pontiff called for the world to "overcome the scourge of hunger," especially for children and the elderly, which is aggravated by conflicts, forced migration and wastefulness. He singled out the need to care for "our brothers and sisters struck by the ebola epidemic" in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia and for "those suffering from so many other diseases also spread through neglect and dire poverty."

Peace was the main topic in his address on Easter — a day celebrated by Christians as the anniversary of when Jesus rose from the dead.

"We pray in a particular way for Syria, that all those suffering the effects of the conflict can receive needed humanitarian aid," he said.

Noting Rome's fraternity with Christian Orthodox faiths, Francis spoke on Ukraine, calling for God to "enlighten and inspire initiatives that promote peace" in that country.

Those gathered in St. Peter's Square said the call for peace was especially poignant given the amount of violence in the world.

"The champions of peace cannot have a greater ally than Pope Francis," said Marie Madeline Suarez, 25, a Guatemalan nun living in Rome, who wept as the pope spoke. "There were great and inspired leaders in history, and it is moving to see one living and breathing here and giving us his blessing."

Alexander Peterson, 55, a taxi company manager and a veteran of the Persian Gulf War who came to Rome from Pittsburgh with his family, agreed.

"To hear this pope, you get the feeling he understands the suffering of those in zones of conflict," Peterson said. "It is clear he is using his influence to profile important causes he believes in, and it is inspiring to see."

The topic of peace will probably rise again in a week when the Vatican pays homage to John XXXIII, who intervened to help bring regional conflicts to an end as pope, and to John Paul II, who played a key role in helping to end the Cold War. Both men will be declared saints April 27. In the case of John Paul II, it will be by far the fastest canonization in the modern era.

That celebration could draw more than 1 million people to St. Peter's, possibly making it the largest gathering in Vatican City since John Paul's funeral in 2005.

Francis ended his address with his traditional jovial informality.

"That's it: Happy Easter!" Francis said at the end of the ceremony. "Go and have a good lunch!"