{UAH} A VERY SUCCESSFUL EASTER SEASON FOR POPE FRANCIS !

In spite of  the sad events in Brussels which did dent on religious service attendance during the Holy Week, Easter season in general all over the world has gone on very well for the very popular and charismatic Pope Francis. Everywhere Easter has been feted with joy in the risen Jesus Christ. Just as well as in Rome, elsewhere in the world all Holy Week and Easter ceremonies have been a success. Millions turned up almost in every country. And The Easter Vigil Mass, Saturday evening, was the occasion to witness the countless thousands of adult baptisms administered practically in every parish. Throughout, Pope Francis has been the centre of attraction especially in Rome and on TVs and other modern science media communications logistics. In Rome crowds packed to full capacity St Peter's Basilica for the holy ceremonies that took place there almost throughout the Holy Week. And the Coliseum attracted a massive crowd for the Stations of the Cross. Then came in the famous Easter  Vigil ( Holy Saturday night ) when the Church was entering into the holy resurrection rite. This is the moment which is usually marked by the administration of the Sacrament of Baptism to adult catechumens who for months have been undergoing a stiff training backed by Catholic catechism. Very many catechumens received the Baptism that night. At the Vatican the Pope baptized 12 catechumens.Moscow Cathedral had 14.  And of course this is where Africa brings to the Church an estimated 500,000 baptisms. Last Saturday there were 2,200 baptisms in the Archdiocese of Dakar ( Senegal) alone! And of course there is Congo ( DRC ) with its regular numbers that come to the equivalent of a quarter of the world total. The USA is reported to have had 80,000 baptisms that night. Singapore had 1,127. South Korea had 150,000. Belgium registered 222. Communist China had 25,000, Nigeria had thousands, Niamey Archdioces : 350, and France baptized 4,911 adults of whom 490 were Parisians (and six of them baptized in Notre-Dame Cathedral ).France's candidates further  included 1,011 students from various French colleges and lycées. All ceremonies in France were again marked by the massive presence of the security forces. To enter famous Notre-Dame in Paris one had to undergo security checks three times, first by the army, then by the police and lastly by  Notre-Dame's security guards who had special torches to detect bullets and explosives. However, once inside this vast edifice one would feel safe and enjoy the service conducted by Paris's very popular Cardinal Archbishop André Vingt Trois assisted by two of his four auxiliaries. The cardinal himself baptized all the six catechumens among whom was an African lady of Senegalese origin.

Easter Sunday was more of a Papal event in Rome where Pope Francis celebrated High Mass in St Peter's Square in the presence of an estimated close to 350,000 pilgrims among whom 150,000 faithful from many different parts of the world. The Mass was televised by Mondovision and all in all about two billion people saw and heard the Pope deliver his Easter message. And two days ago, Easter Monday, the Pope appeared in the window of his private study to recite the Regina Coeli and to address the 50,000 pilgrims assembled in the Square. He strongly expressed concern over the carnage in Central Pakistan where dozens of Christians were massacred when they were celebrating Easter in a botanical garden park. The Pope appealed to the authorities to do their utmost possible to protect the minority Christians.

Easter warmth continues in France with pilgrims now leading to the Basilica of Argenteuil near Paris to see the Holy Tunic which believers take to be the one Jesus Christ used to wear. Thousands of pilgrims are flocking there daily. they come in streams of buses, cars, etc.. and the nearby railway station is busy loading and off-loading cargoes of pilgrims. While in Rome Easter has given a much more impetus to the Holy Year of Mercy.

Dr G.H. Kkolokolo ( Paris / France )

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