:00:22. > :00:35.Good morning and welcome to BBC One's coverage of the Pope's Easter
:00:36. > :00:41.message, as the church worldwide gathered to celebrate the climax of
:00:42. > :00:44.Holy Week, the day when Christians mark the resurrection of Jesus
:00:45. > :00:51.Christ. St Peter's Square in Rome has been decorated with 35,000
:00:52. > :00:55.flowers, described by the Vatican as an expression of joy to mark the
:00:56. > :01:00.resurrection of Christ. And having just presided at the celebration of
:01:01. > :01:06.Mass, the Pope is about to deliver his Easter message, which will then
:01:07. > :01:09.be followed by a blessing. As you can see from these live pictures,
:01:10. > :01:15.thousands have travelled here from all over the world to hear the Pope
:01:16. > :01:22.speak, filling the giant piazza on this most important and significant
:01:23. > :01:27.day in the Christian calendar. This is in fact Pope Francis's fifth
:01:28. > :01:33.Easter, and comes between two significant moments in his papacy.
:01:34. > :01:37.For those within the Roman Catholic Church, there has been the year of
:01:38. > :01:43.Mercy, which ran from December 2015 until the end of last year. The
:01:44. > :01:47.second moment concerns those outside of the Church, those of other
:01:48. > :01:52.faiths, because in less than two weeks' time, Pope Francis will
:01:53. > :01:54.travel to Egypt for what commentators are calling the most
:01:55. > :02:02.significant interfaith visit of his papacy thus far. The visit, which
:02:03. > :02:06.was planned earlier this year, comes after two bomb attacks on Coptic
:02:07. > :02:16.churches in Egypt on Palm Sunday. As you can see, Pope Francis has
:02:17. > :02:45.arrived on the balcony. Surrounded by flowers.
:02:46. > :04:18.The pageantry and beauty of this occasion, celebrated every year.
:04:19. > :04:23.TRANSLATION: Dear brothers and sisters, happy Easter!
:04:24. > :04:27.Today, throughout the world, the Church echoes once more
:04:28. > :04:29.the astonishing message of the
:04:30. > :04:46.The ancient feast of Passover, the commemoration of the liberation
:04:47. > :04:54.of the Hebrew people from slavery, here finds fulfilment.
:04:55. > :04:57.By his resurrection, Jesus Christ has set us
:04:58. > :05:02.free from the slavery of sin and death, and has opened before us
:05:03. > :05:14.All of us, when we let ourselves be mastered by sin,
:05:15. > :05:17.lose the right way and end up straying
:05:18. > :05:28.But God himself, our shepherd, has come in search of us.
:05:29. > :05:36.To save us, he lowered himself even to accepting death on the cross.
:05:37. > :05:41."The Good Shepherd has risen, who laid down
:05:42. > :05:51.and willingly died for his flock, alleluia".
:05:52. > :05:57.In every age, the Risen Shepherd tirelessly seeks us,
:05:58. > :06:00.his brothers and sisters, wandering in
:06:01. > :06:08.With the marks of the passion - the wounds of his merciful love -
:06:09. > :06:19.he draws us to follow him on his way, the way of life.
:06:20. > :06:23.Today too, he places upon his shoulders
:06:24. > :06:26.so many of our brothers and sisters crushed by evil
:06:27. > :06:37.The Risen Shepherd goes in search of all those lost
:06:38. > :06:44.in the labyrinths of loneliness and marginalisation.
:06:45. > :06:46.He comes to meet them through our brothers
:06:47. > :06:50.and sisters who treat them with respect and kindness,
:06:51. > :07:02.an unforgettable voice, a voice calling them
:07:03. > :07:09.He takes upon himself all those victimised
:07:10. > :07:13.by old and new forms of slavery, inhuman labour,
:07:14. > :07:18.illegal trafficking, exploitation and discrimination,
:07:19. > :07:25.He takes upon himself children and adolescents deprived
:07:26. > :07:31.of their carefree innocence and exploited,
:07:32. > :07:34.and those deeply hurt by acts of violence that take place
:07:35. > :07:47.The Risen Shepherd walks beside all those forced
:07:48. > :07:53.to leave their homelands as a result of armed conflicts,
:07:54. > :08:05.terrorist attacks, famine and oppressive regimes.
:08:06. > :08:09.Everywhere, he helps these forced migrants to encounter
:08:10. > :08:12.brothers and sisters, with whom they can share
:08:13. > :08:29.In the complex and often dramatic situations of today's world,
:08:30. > :08:32.may the Risen Lord guide the steps
:08:33. > :08:36.of all those who work for justice and peace.
:08:37. > :08:39.May he grant the leaders of nations the courage
:08:40. > :08:42.they need to prevent the spread of conflicts and to put
:08:43. > :08:55.Especially in these days, may he sustain
:08:56. > :09:00.the efforts of all those actively engaged in bringing comfort
:09:01. > :09:08.and relief to the civil population in Syria,
:09:09. > :09:21.prey to a war that continues to sow horror and death.
:09:22. > :09:49.May he grant peace to the entire Middle East,
:09:50. > :09:57.beginning with the Holy Land, as well as in Iraq and Yemen.
:09:58. > :10:01.May Jesus sustain the efforts of those in Latin America who are
:10:02. > :10:08.committed to their societies. May the Good Shepherd
:10:09. > :10:10.remain close to the people Somalia and the
:10:11. > :10:12.Democratic Republic of Congo, aggravated by the grave famine
:10:13. > :10:38.affecting certain parts of Africa. May it be possible for
:10:39. > :10:40.bridges of dialogue to be built, by continuing to fight
:10:41. > :10:43.the scourge of corruption and to seek viable and peaceful
:10:44. > :10:48.solutions to disputes, for progress and the
:10:49. > :10:52.strengthening of democratic institutions in complete
:10:53. > :11:11.respect for the rule of law. May the Good Shepherd come
:11:12. > :11:14.to the aid of Ukraine, still beset by conflict
:11:15. > :11:15.and bloodshed, May he accompany every effort
:11:16. > :11:26.to alleviate the tragic sufferings of those
:11:27. > :11:33.affected by the conflict. The Risen Lord continues
:11:34. > :11:34.to shed his blessing May he grant hope to those
:11:35. > :11:39.experiencing moments of crisis and difficulty,
:11:40. > :11:41.especially due to high unemployment, this year Christians of every
:11:42. > :12:00.confession With one voice, in every part
:12:01. > :12:09.of the world, we proclaim the great
:12:10. > :12:18.message: "The Lord is truly
:12:19. > :12:24.risen, as he said!" May Jesus, who vanquished
:12:25. > :13:11.the darkness of sin and death, And so Pope Francis concludes his
:13:12. > :13:21.homily, and we moved to the Easter blessing. The cardinal deacon
:13:22. > :13:24.announces that the Pope's blessing, offered to those in the square and
:13:25. > :13:29.those listening and watching this broadcast around the world, will
:13:30. > :13:35.contain an expression of God's forgiveness offered to all who hear
:13:36. > :13:38.it, those present in person and those receiving this blessing
:13:39. > :14:07.through the medium of television, radio and online.
:14:08. > :14:19.May the holy Apostles, Peter and Paul, in whose power and authority
:14:20. > :14:25.we have confidence, intercede for us with the Lord. Through the prayers
:14:26. > :14:27.and merits of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin and blessed Michael, the
:14:28. > :14:31.Archangel, the bust John the Baptist and the holy Apostles Peter and
:14:32. > :14:36.Paul, and all the saints, may Almighty God have mercy on you and
:14:37. > :14:37.with your sins forgiven, Murnan may Jesus Christ lead you into
:14:38. > :14:51.everlasting life. Maybe Almighty and merciful Lord
:14:52. > :14:55.thank you indulgence, absolution and remission of all your sins. Time for
:14:56. > :15:02.a true and fruitful pennants and always repentant heart, the grace
:15:03. > :15:03.and consolation of the holy spirit and final perseverance in good
:15:04. > :15:33.works. Pope Francis there, offering the
:15:34. > :15:41.blessing of Almighty God, the father, the sun and the Holy Ghost,
:15:42. > :15:46.that it would extend the more those. And now his final greeting. I would
:15:47. > :15:49.like to wish a happy Easter to all of you who have come from Italy and
:15:50. > :15:58.different countries, as well as to those who are connected through the
:15:59. > :16:02.media. Made the Easter message of Christ risen revive the hopes of
:16:03. > :16:09.your families and your communities, and in particular of the new
:16:10. > :16:15.generations. The future of the Church and of humanity. And a
:16:16. > :16:21.special thank you to those who have gifted us and made decoration with
:16:22. > :16:41.the flowers that this year too come from the Netherlands.
:16:42. > :16:49.May you feel the presence of the Christ risen every day and share
:16:50. > :17:01.with others the joy and hope that he offers us. Please do not forget to
:17:02. > :17:21.pray for me. Happy Easter and goodbye.
:17:22. > :17:28.Pope Francis concludes with that blessing in his Easter message. He
:17:29. > :17:35.spoke of the way Christ has come down to us, he said to save as
:17:36. > :17:41.Christ lowered himself even to accepting death on the cross. Today
:17:42. > :17:47.we proclaim the Good Shepherd has risen who laid down his life for his
:17:48. > :17:53.sheep. He also spoke about those victimised by old and new forms of
:17:54. > :17:58.slavery, in Labour, illegal trafficking, exploitation and
:17:59. > :18:03.discrimination. He also referred to the violence that children and
:18:04. > :18:07.adolescents suffer and spoke of those acts of violence that take
:18:08. > :18:13.place, in his words, within the walls of their own home. The Risen
:18:14. > :18:21.Shepherd, he said, walks beside all those who are in suffering.
:18:22. > :18:31.Just before he preached these images were captured by our cameras as Pope
:18:32. > :18:44.Francis greeted thousands around St Peter's Square.
:18:45. > :18:49.He travelled, greeting all of those who were waiting, waving, and on
:18:50. > :18:58.several occasions had to hold onto his hat because of the wind. He
:18:59. > :19:03.spoke earlier at the Mass, and then during his sermon just now of the
:19:04. > :19:10.complex and often dramatic situations that present themselves
:19:11. > :19:14.to today's world. He also pleaded for leaders of nations to have
:19:15. > :19:20.courage, back courage he said that they need to prevent the spread of
:19:21. > :19:27.conflicts and to put a halt to the arms trade.
:19:28. > :19:36.And Pope Francis continues to be concerned for those places where
:19:37. > :19:42.religious minorities are persecuted in just over two weeks he will
:19:43. > :19:53.travel to Rome where there were those two bomb attacks in Egypt. And
:19:54. > :19:57.in his message he said this dollar in the complex and often dramatic
:19:58. > :20:01.situations of today's world, may the Risen Lord guide the steps of all
:20:02. > :20:05.those who work for justice and peace, may he grant the leaders of
:20:06. > :20:11.nations the courage they need to prevent the spread of conflicts. It
:20:12. > :20:19.is a prayer that all of us can assent to. From myself and the
:20:20. > :20:21.entire BBC television production team, goodbye and a very happy and
:20:22. > :20:23.peaceful Easter to you.