Pope Francis condemned the many "stumbling blocks" to world peace during his traditional Urbi et Orbi message for Easter. The Argentine Jesuit expressed his "deep concern" because of the "attacks of recent days" in the Middle East.
As in 2022, the papal message also gave special prominence to the war in Ukraine. The 86-year-old pope, hospitalized last week for bronchitis, had presided for two and a half hours the Easter Vigil in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.