2012 Urbi et Orbi

Good morning. It's a sparkling spring day here in Rome, a chill

wind blowing down from the snow- covered mountains, but the sun is

filling the vast piazza of St Peter's and warming the crowd,

sparkling on the fountains and on the Swiss Guards. We're waiting for

the Pope to appear on the balcony of St Peter's. The lodger hung

above the piazza, above the open- air altar where he'll be saying

mass this morning. A group of pilgrims, perhaps a thousand strong,

from all over the world. We have been told that the Pope is resting

for a few minutes - for ten minutes or so - between the mass and his

appearance on the balcony, and this is a departure from normal

practising and perhaps shows that he is beginning to feel his age

just a little, and well he might. He turns 85 on the 16th of April

and will become the oldest Pope in over a hundred years. In spite of

his age, he has been setting an impressive pace, which would have

exhausted many a younger man. APPLAUSE

He returns only ten days ago from a trip to Latin America, where he

spoke to vast crowds in Mexico and Cuba.

APPLAUSE And now here he is on the balcony

accompanied by his Master of Ceremonies and his attendant

partners. MUSIC

And greeted by the Bands of the Swiss Guards and the Italian Armed

The Swiss Guard is answered by the Italian Armed Forces Band, again,

playing a verse of the Papal anthem, saluting the Pope not just as

leader of the world's billion Catholics, but as head of state of

the Vatican City, state, the world's smallest state.

Pope Benedict XVI, vicar of Christ, successor of the Prince of the

Apostles, supreme pontiff of the universal church, Primate of Italy,

sovereign of the State of the Vatican City, servant of the

The Pope begins his Easter homily with a quote from an ancient Latin

hymn, "Christ, my hope, has risen. May the jubilant voice of the

church reach all of you with the words which the ancient hymn puts

on the lips of Mary Magdalene, the first to encounter the risen Jesus

We too, who have journeyed through and the sorrowful days of the

today raise the cry of victory, "He has risen! He has truly risen!"

Every Christian relives the experience of Mary Magdalene.

It involves an encounter which changes our lives -

the encounter with a unique Man

who lets us experience all God's goodness and truth,

who frees us from evil not in a superficial and fleeting way,

but sets us free radically, heals uscompletely and restores our dignity.

This is why Mary Magdalene calls Jesus "my hope" -

he was the one who allowed her to be reborn, who gave her a new future,

a life of goodness and freedom from evil.

"Christ my hope" means that all my yearnings for goodness

find in him a real possibility of fulfilment,

with him I can hope for a life that is good, full and eternal,

for God himself has drawn near to us, even sharing our humanity.

But Mary Magdalene, like the other disciples,

was to see Jesus rejected by the leaders of the people,

arrested, scourged, condemned to death and crucified.

It must have been unbearable to see Goodness in person

subjected to human malice, truth derided by falsehood,

mercy abused by vengeance. With Jesus' death,

the hope of all those who had put their trust in him seemed doomed.

But that faith never completely failed,

especially in the heart of the Virgin Mary, Jesus' Mother,

its flame burned even in the dark of night.

In this world, hope can not avoid confronting the harshness of evil.

It is not thwarted by the wall of death alone,

but even more by the barbs of envy and pride, falsehood and violence.

Jesus passed through this mortal mesh

in order to open a path to the kingdom of life.

For a moment Jesus seemed vanquished -

darkness had invaded the land, the silence of God was complete,

hope a seemingly empty word.

And lo, on the dawn of the day afterthe Sabbath, the tomb is found empty.

Jesus then shows himself to Mary Magdalene, to the other women,

to his disciples. Faith is born anew, more alive and strong than ever,

now invincible since it is based on a decisive experience -

"Death with life contended, combat strangely ended!

Life's own champion, slain, now lives to reign".

The signs of the resurrection testify

to the victory of life over death, love over hatred,

mercy over vengeance. "The tomb the living did enclose,

"I saw Christ's glory as he rose!

"The angels there attesting, shroud with grave-clothes resting".

Dear brothers and sisters! If Jesus is risen, then - and only then -

has something truly new happened,

something that changes the state of humanity and the world.

Then he, Jesus, is someone in whom we can put absolute trust;

we can put our trust not only in his message but in Jesus himself,

for the Risen One does not belong to the past,

but is present today, alive.

Christ is hope and comfort in a particular way

for those Christian communities suffering most for their faith

on account of discrimination and persecution.

And he is present as a force of hope through his Church,

which is close to all human situations

of suffering and injustice.

May the risen Christ grant hope to the Middle East

and enable all the ethnic, cultural and religious groups in that region

to work together to advance the common good

and respect for human rights.

Particularly in Syria, may there be an end to bloodshed

and an immediate commitment to the path of respect,

dialogue and reconciliation,

as called for by the international community.

May the many refugees from that country

who are in need of humanitarian assistance

find the acceptance and solidarity

capable of relieving their dreadful sufferings.

May the paschal victory encourage the Iraqi people

to spare no effort in pursuing the path of stability and development.

In the Holy Land, may Israelis and Palestinians

courageously take up anew the peace process.

May the Lord, the victor over evil and death,

sustain the Christian communities of the African continent;

may he grant them hope in facing their difficulties,

and make them peacemakers and agents of development

in the societies to which they belong.

May the risen Jesus comfort the suffering populations

of the Horn of Africa and favour their reconciliation;

may he help the Great Lakes Region, Sudan and South Sudan,

and grant their inhabitants the power of forgiveness.

In Mali, now experiencing delicate political developments,

may the glorious Christ grant peace and stability.

To Nigeria, which in recent times

has experienced savage terrorist attacks,

may the joy of Easter grant the strength needed

to take up anew the building of a society

which is peaceful and respectful of

the religious freedom of its citizens.

Happy Easter to all!

The

The Pope

The Pope is

The Pope is now going to give his Easter greetings in many languages.

This broadcast is going out to 60 countries around the world, and he

begins in Italian. A recent survey shows the Church is facing

fascinating, complex challenges in Italy with a sharp decline in

religious belief and observance, but at the same time, a short

increase in the need for prayer and attendance at pilgrimages and

events like this. But he urges the people of Italy to

cherish in their hearts the radiance of peace and love that

comes from the risen Christ and which give s strength to every work

A very warm greeting to this German Pope from pilgrims from German-

speaking lands. Now he's giving Easter greetings in

Spanish and then in Portuguese. It's worth remembering that over

half the world's Catholics are now The Pope is now thanking the people

of the Netherlands for the flowers which they have sent and which

Now a number of Slovic languages, including Polish. It was in this

square just under a year ago, of course, he beatifyed his prod

sensor, John Paul II, the Polish A number of Balkan languages. The

Pope was in Croatia last summer praying at the tomb of the

Archbishop of Zagreb, who was imprisoned for many years by the

Moving from Russia and the Ukraine towards the Baltic and Scandinavian

It's a greeting in Maltese. Worth mentioning that one of the recently

appointed cardinals is a Now moving from the Middle East to

Africa, greetings in Swahili. And Malagasi. The Pope was in Benin

last year, marking the 151st mission there. He has often said he

regards Africa as the great hope Chinese - another of the Cardinals

is the Bishop of Hong Kong, one of the most respected Catholic figures

Filipino - APPLAUSE

A delighted response from the speakers in the piazza, the

Philippines, the Catholics' largest The Pope ends with Guarani, an

indigenous language of the Amazon basin.

APPLAUSE And the moment of the Urbi Et Orbi

Urbi Et Orbi, that is "to the city, the City of Rome," and to the whole

He's assisted by Cardinal John Louis Taron from France, a man with

a distinguished diplomatic career. He's now in charge of inter-

religious dialogue at the Vatican, and he's praying that almighty God

may grant the Pope many years as leader of the Church. The Pope now

calls on the Apostles Peter and Paul and the Virgin Mary and all

the Saints to pray for the Church May the almighty ands merciful Lord

grant you and soleucence and abolition of all of your sins,

fruitful penance and a grateful heart.

And perseverance in all good works. Amen. May the blessing of almighty

God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit come down on you and remain with

you forever, the blessing Urbi Et Orbi given by Pope Benedict XVI to

an enthusiastic group of pilgrims in the piazza in front of St

Peter's and to people throughout the world.

And as the Pope stressed earlier, his greetings go out not only to

Catholics, but to Christian bleevers everywhere, and indeed --

believers everywhere and indeed to all people of goodWill because he

believes ultimately that all goodness comes from God, the God

revealed in the risen Christ at Pope Benedict's message this

morning, as always, is one of hope, springing from the Easter story,

hope both for individuals to find joy in their own lives, hope also

for a genuinely free society, for justice and peace among nations,

for religious tolerance and respect for human rights. The Pope has made

a passionate appeal this morning to the peoples of the Middle East to

come together across all boundaries of ethnicity and faith to work for

peace, above all, in Syria, but also in Iraq and in the Holy Land,

a term which embraces Israel and the Palestinian territories.

APPLAUSE He has also addressed in particular

the hunger for peace and development in the African

continent and has urged Christians to work for justice and human

rights throughout the world. Pope Benedict is - he's not a

natural public figure like John Paul II, the actor who knew how to

play the crowd. He's essentially a private man, a scholar, a man of

prayer, who enjoys nothing more than an evening at home playing

Mozart on the piano and probably writing a book of theology. When he

was 70 he asked the then-Pope John Paul II to retire and take up quiet

work in the Vatican library. The Pope refused him, kept him on as

Cardinal and then ultimately he found himself succeeding his great

friend as Pope. He said that he was overwhelmed by the election - a

feeling of unworthiness, and a need for the prayers of the whole Church

At heart, in spite of all the grandeur of Rome, his message is a

simple one - as he urged a rally of young people the other day:

"Happiness comes from recognising real joy in the simplest events of

daily life." He says, "Our present day culture often pressures us to

seek immediate goals and satisfactions. It promotes a

consumerist mentality and a promise of false happiness. In contrast,

each day can be filled with countless simple joys which are the

Lord's gift, the joy of living, of seeing nature's beauty, of a job

well done, the joy of helping others, of sincere and pure love.

Whatever brings joy, whether the small joys of each day or the

greatest joys in life, this has its ultimate source in God because God