The Holy Father prayed for the victims of the "disgraceful and inhumane" attack in Russia at the end of the mass presented in St. Peter's Square in Rome on Palm Sunday.

Pope Francis did not read his pre-written speech at the mass. Instead of a homily, he kept a short silence.

At the end of the mass, he delivered his brief greeting, originally expected at noon, in which he urged peace in the conflict-ridden regions of the world.

In his prayer, he remembered the victims of the terrorist attack in Moscow, and asked for peace of mind and comfort for the families of the victims. The Pope said, "may the Lord redeem the hearts of all those who plan, organize and carry out these inhuman acts".

The head of the church also remembered the "martyr Ukraine". He emphasized that attacks on the country's infrastructure, which cause no power supply, could lead to the widening of the humanitarian disaster situation.

The open-air Mass was presented in St. Peter's Square: the ceremony began with a procession according to the Easter tradition.

Commemorating Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, priests and laity held palm juice and olive branches in their hands, which the Pope blessed. The simple and braided palm leaves came from the city of Sanremo, the olive branches, like the olive trees that decorate St. Peter's Square and its surroundings, came from nearby Umbria and the more distant province of Puglia.

In recent months, it has happened several times that Pope Francis did not read his speech personally due to illness. However, it happened for the first time on Palm Sunday, and this time his colleague did not read the speech for him, as happened in other cases before.

At the end of the ceremony, Pope Francis toured St. Peter's Square in the papal mobile. According to information from the Vatican, 60,000 people listened to his words, believers and tourists who came to Rome for Easter. As usual, the crowd was let through security gates.

In the Italian capital, the already highlighted security measures were further strengthened until Easter Monday. The Minister of the Interior called an extraordinary national security consultation with representatives of the authorities to analyze the situation after the terrorist attack in Moscow.

MTI

Cover image: Pope Francis' prayer of the Angelus at St. Peter's Square on Palm Sunday
Source: Vatican News