Pope Leo XIV formally inaugurated the Easter season with the celebration of the Easter Vigil in St Peter’s Basilica, setting out a message centred on the transforming power of Christ’s resurrection and its relevance to a world marked by conflict, division and fear.
Preaching during the solemn liturgy, which began at 9pm in Rome and is traditionally regarded as the “mother of all vigils”, the Pope drew on the ancient Easter proclamation, the Exsultet, quoting its opening words, “The sanctifying power of this night dispels wickedness, washes faults away, restores innocence to the fallen… drives out hatred, fosters concord and brings down the mighty.”
