VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis delivered a plea for peace in his first Easter Sunday message to the world, decrying the seemingly endless conflicts in the Middle East and on the Korean peninsula after celebrating Mass at an outdoor altar before more than 250,000 people in flower-bedecked St. Peter’s Square.
The new Pontiff has been to see his predecessor Benedict XVI at the papal residence of Castel Gandolfo.
Pope Francis has held his first Mass in the Sistine Chapel, urging the Catholic Church to stick to its roots and shun modern temptations.
White smoke billows from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel after cardinals chose a new leader of the Catholic church.
Black smoke emerges from the chimney of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel indicating that the 115 cardinals are still undecided.
The cardinals who will choose the next Pope will adhere to a strict timetable when voting starts next week.
Roman Catholic cardinals will start their conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI on March 12, the Vatican announces.
On Monday all the cardinals from around the world have gathered inside the Vatican for their first round of meetings to decide on the next pope.
Tens of thousands were at the Vatican for Pope Benedict XVI’s final public audience before he resigns today – the first pope to do so in almost 600 years. He said he faced “choppy seas at times” and said he was quitting for good of the church.
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