Pope Begins Easter Vigil at the Vatican
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VATICAN CITY — Pope John Paul II, bearing a single lighted candle, led a procession Saturday night into St. Peter’s Basilica to begin an Easter vigil service.
A deacon intoned “ Lumen Christi “ -- “Light of Christ” in Latin--and the Pope lit the four-foot-high candle.
As he proceeded down the aisle of the pitch-black basilica, occasionally illuminated by the flash of cameras, thousands of the faithful lit their own candles. Soon a sea of flickering flames filled the church.
As the Pope reached the altar, the lights went on.
“The Easter vigil is a time of anxious waiting for the moment when the women at Christ’s tomb will hear the joyful announcement, ‘He is risen!’ ” John Paul said in his homily.
Easter marks the central Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead after his crucifixion.
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