Thousands of pilgrims came to Rome during the Holy week to celebrate the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“Rome being the Eternal City,” EWTN News Journalist Matthew Santucci explained, “it’s the city of martyrs. It’s the city of the Pope. And so, for so many Catholics, it’s a dream to celebrate beside the Holy Father, to see him actually presiding over the masses. And it’s a very moving experience.”
The Easter triduum is the apex of the Catholic liturgical year, and it starts with Holy Thursday. Pope Francis presided over a Chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in the presence of nearly 2,000 priests, bishops, and cardinals. In his homily, the Holy Father encouraged the priests to turn their gaze upon the crucified Lord and embrace compunction, a “piercing of the heart” that evokes healing tears of repentance.
“It is a beneficial ‘piercing,’” the Pope said, “that purifies and heals the heart. Once we recognize our sin, our hearts can be opened to the working of the Holy Spirit, the source of living water that wells up within us and brings tears to our eyes.”
Maintaining a custom he has practiced since the beginning of his papacy, Pope Francis celebrated the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the Rebibbia Women’s Prison in Rome on Holy Thursday, washing the feet of 12 female inmates.
“For me,” Santucci shared, “Good Friday is particularly evocative because you have this moment where the Holy Father walks into the basilica in silence, and then of course, you have the chanting of the Passion. But one moment that I think is particularly powerful is when the Cardinals go up to venerate the crucifix and they’re singing the Good Friday reproaches. And that’s the moment where God, Christ from the cross, is reproaching his people for the injustice of the crucifixion.”
On Good Friday afternoon, the Holy Father presided over the liturgy of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ in St. Peter’s Basilica. After the proclamation of the Passion, the homily was delivered by the Preacher of the Pontifical Household, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa.
Santucci noted, “I was a bit surprised that the Holy Father did not attend the Via Crucis, having been in Saint Peter’s for the Good Friday liturgy, he seemed to be in good spirits and to be in good form. Obviously he has been battling some health issues over the past couple of months with a chronic pulmonary inflammation, but at the same time it is a very intensive three days and so I could understand why the Holy See Press Office would have want to take an abundance of caution, especially as he was preparing for the Easter Vigil and for Easter Sunday.”
Even without the presence of the Pope at the Via Crucis, the Stations of the Cross, 25,000 people came to take part in the prayers in front of an impressive background.
On Saturday night, the Holy Father presided over the traditional Easter Vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. Drawing from the Gospel narrative of the women at the empty tomb, Pope Francis reminded the faithful that by saying yes to Christ, “no stone will block the way to our hearts.”
Pope Francis also reminded, “This is the Pasch of Christ, the revelation of God’s power: the victory of life over death, the triumph of light over darkness, the rebirth of hope amid the ruins of failure.”
On Easter Sunday morning, Pope Francis celebrated Holy Mass in St. Peter’s square in the presence of approximately 30,000 people.
“We saw from Good Friday as well as Holy Saturday,” Santucci highlighted, “the Pope talking about this notion that Christ’s resurrection is ultimately not one of defeat but of triumph. So, what he was trying to underscore was that we can’t give way to anguish. We can’t give way to despondency, but also make true life. A new life comes through Christ.”
Concluding this year’s program of Easter celebrations, the Pope then gave the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing, praying especially for the victims of the many conflicts worldwide, as well as those of abortion and human trafficking.
Adapted by Jacob Stein
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