Pope Francis pleads for peace in Easter message

Pope Francis urges world to resist war logic, calls for peace and aid in Easter message at Vatican.

Pope Francis urged the world to resist “the logic of weapons” in his Easter message at the Vatican on March 31, easing growing health fears as he greeted thousands of Catholics.

The 87-year-old’s “Urbi et Orbi” (To the City and the World) blessing came after he led Easter Mass in front of 60,000 worshippers at Saint Peter’s Square while appearing in good spirits.

In his traditional speech broadcasted worldwide, Francis condemned war as “always an absurdity and a defeat”, raising conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar and beyond.

He renewed appeals for a ceasefire in Gaza, calling for greater aid deliveries to the devastated territory and the release of hostages taken by Hamas during its unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war.

The civilian population is “now at the limit of its endurance”, he said, lamenting the impact on children especially.

“Let us not allow the strengthening winds of war to blow on Europe and the Mediterranean. Let us not yield to the logic of weapons and rearming,” he added.

The pope prposed a “general exchange of all prisoners between Russia and Ukraine” as the war between the two countries grinds through its third year.