Pope prays for peace in Iraq during Easter Mass

For some, ‘a dream come true’
After leading black-robed priests into the church singing the Lord’s Prayer, the Palestinian-born patriarch lit worshippers’ candles, which gradually illuminated the painted dome ceiling erected in the Crusader era.

“This is like a dream come true for us to be here in the Holy Land,” said Rona Arida, 29, a Philippine worker in Israel, after praying with her friends at the church. “I prayed for all of my family back home.”

At the Vatican, Benedict was interrupted by applause when he said of Iraq: “may peace finally prevail over the tragic violence that continues mercilessly to claim victims.”

“I also pray sincerely that those caught up in the conflict in the Holy Land may find peace, and I invite all to patient and persevering dialogue, so as to remove both ancient and new obstacles,” the pontiff said.

There has been heavy pressure from abroad on the Hamas-led Palestinian government, which was elected in January, to renounce violence and recognize Israel’s right to exist.

Concerns for Middle East, Africa
“May the international community, which reaffirms Israel’s just right to exist in peace, assist the Palestinian people to overcome the precarious conditions in which they live and to build their future, moving toward the constitution of a state which is truly their own,” Benedict said.

The pope lamented that the humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region was “no longer sustainable.”

He denounced the “deplorable scourge of kidnappings” in Latin America, where, he said, millions of people should have better living conditions and democratic institutions need to be “consolidated in a spirit of harmony.”

As Mass began, a brisk breeze ruffled the pope’s gold-colored vestments and the crimson feathers atop the helmets of Swiss Guards as he strode up the center to the square to take his place at a canopied altar on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Multilingual expressions
The pope offered holiday wishes in 62 languages and gave his blessing. Among the prayers read by faithful during the Mass was a wish, in French, that the pope receive a birthday gift of “serene” days.

Benedict’s predecessor, John Paul II, died six days after Easter last year, and was so weak he was unable to address faithful in the square on Easter, only raising his hand in blessing.

Benedict looked tired during Sunday’s Mass. He had had only a few hours to rest after leading a long Easter vigil ceremony Saturday night in St. Peter’s Basilica that lasted past midnight.

After a packed schedule of Holy Week ceremonies, Benedict was heading to the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo, a hill town near Rome, where he planned to give pilgrims and tourists his blessing Monday at the start of a brief vacation.

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