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Rome (dpa) - On Easter Sunday, Pope Francis wants to celebrate one of the highest feasts in the church year for the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and then donate the blessing «Urbi et Orbi».

The head of the Catholic Church has to celebrate the celebrations again under Corona conditions.

The crowds of pilgrims who came to the Vatican and the Italian capital Rome in the past stayed away again this year.

Before the pandemic, Easter Sunday mass was often celebrated in St. Peter's Square with tens of thousands of people.

For believing Christians, Easter is the most important festival in the church year.

Because of the Corona crisis, the Vatican moved the service to St. Peter's Basilica again.

Again, only a limited number of participants should be allowed there.

At the church services on the previous days there were mostly around 200 people.

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A year earlier - in April 2020, when the pandemic in Italy was in full swing - Pope Francis had celebrated Easter Sunday Mass on Easter Sunday in an even more limited form with a few concelebrants and religious sisters.

The liturgy has been shortened a little.

Back then, as in this year, events had to be canceled or relocated to other locations.

For example, Francis could not pray the Way of the Cross on Good Friday as he usually does at the Colosseum in Rome, but had to move to St. Peter's Square.

For the 84-year-old, who is considered to be someone who likes to be around people, the big church festivals Easter and Christmas in pandemic times are sobering.

His closeness to the people was evident on his trip to Iraq, for example, when he was able to hold a mass in front of thousands of people again after a long time in the football stadium of the Kurdish capital Erbil.

The second important item on this year's Easter Sunday is the donation of the «Urbi et Orbi» (For the city and the world) blessing following the service.

With this, the Pope exempts the believers from penalties for their sins, if they have already extinguished them - for example in confession or through prayers.

In the past, believers could only receive indulgence in St. Peter's Square.

Over the years this has also become possible via radio (1967), television (1985) and the Internet (1995).

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The blessing is usually on the program at Easter and Christmas - and when a new Pope has been elected.

Last year, the pontiff also donated the blessing on an extraordinary occasion on March 27th.

The reason for this was the corona pandemic.

It was then that he called on Catholics to love their neighbor and to recognize the real priorities in life.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210404-99-78801 / 2

Information on Urbi et Orbi

Easter program in the Vatican