Pope Leo XIV said Easter proclaims the victory of love over evil and calls humanity to reconciliation, as he presided over the Easter Vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on the evening of April 4, according to Vatican News.
Quoting an ancient hymn, the Pope said Easter “drives out hatred, fosters concord and brings down the mighty,” highlighting the transformative power of Christ’s Resurrection.
While the central message of Easter is the Resurrection of Jesus, the Pope noted that “the holy mystery of this night…extends across the centuries,” as reflected in the readings proclaimed during the vigil liturgy.
Drawing on the series of Scripture passages—from creation to the Exodus and the witness of the apostles—he described salvation history as a “path of reconciliation and grace.” The unifying thread, he said, is that “God responds to the hardness of sin—which divides and kills—with the power of love, which unites and restores life.”
Reflecting on the Gospel account of the Resurrection in the Gospel of Matthew, the Pope recalled how the women who came to the tomb witnessed an earthquake and the stone being rolled away.
“In that moment,” he said, “they encounter the power of God’s love, stronger than any force of evil.” He added that while humanity may destroy the body, “the life of the God of love is eternal life, which transcends death and which no tomb can imprison.”
In the final part of his homily, the Pope pointed to the “tombs still to be opened today,” including mistrust, fear, selfishness, resentment, war, injustice, and the isolation of peoples and nations.
He urged the faithful not to be “paralyzed” by these realities, but to follow the example of the saints through commitment and perseverance.
Quoting Vatican News, the Pope called on Christians to ensure that “the Easter gifts of harmony and peace might grow and flourish everywhere and always throughout the world.”
The Easter Vigil, one of the most significant celebrations in the Christian calendar, marks the passage from darkness to light and the triumph of life over death, reaffirming the Church’s message of hope in a troubled world.
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