Easter with Pope Francis

Pope Francis, walking with a cane, asked this Easter that “May the Lord give us all peace as the gift of his Easter,” at the end of the general audience held in the Paul VI hall.  Pope Francis, whose frail health has been a growing source of concern in recent weeks, appeared in better shape ahead of a busy Easter week schedule. The 87-year-old pontiff read out in full pre-prepared texts for his weekly audience, rather than delegating an aide to read most of them, as he had done in the previous four weeks, and made a few off-the-cuff remarks.  Francis made fresh appeals for peace in Ukraie and the Middle East, and publicly greeted two men in the audience, one Israeli and one Palestinian, who have both lost daughters in the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Concerns about his condition were renewed three days ago, when he skipped his homily at a Palm Sunday service in St Peter’s Square. The pontiff is due to preside over a number of religious services and ceremonies leading up to Easter on Sunday, including a washing of the feet ritual in a women’s prison in Rome on Thursday.  Easter is the most important festival in the Christian calendar, celebrating the day on which Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead. The mayor’s office in most towns and cities in Panama announced that alcohol sales will be prohibited both Thursday and Friday.