Dear brothers, sisters and all people of good will! Easter is The Feast of All Feasts. The Church and all the people who celebrate Easter thank God for Jesus Christ, whose crucifixion and resurrection were a victory over sin and death. Christ’s victory isn’t only his. It is a gift to all people and the whole world. It gives people the possibility to become, together with him, the heirs and carriers of the resurrection.

This is the most important Christian holiday. In Kivumu it is celebrated very sparingly. Because of the poverty we cannot make Easter into a day that doesn’t look like every other. There are no gifts and no new clothes for the children. But they still celebrate it in a very dignified way by going to church and spending time with their families.

Here, they don’t decorate eggs, but rather put a previously cut banana tree in front of their house. That sign shows that they are celebrating in that house. The family gathers and the festive meal consists of the groceries available in the gardens. Those are, for example, sweet potato, beans, cabbage and bananas which they cook. Bread is considered to be a delicacy.

I would prefer it if your messages considering the poor and the hungry, which are being told on this festive day, wouldn’t remain only told statements. They should be made into concrete help and a strong call to our conscience. That way we would understand that helping the poor will make us comprehend the deepest truths of the Gospel.

Dear friends, brothers and sisters, we wish you happy and blessed Easter!

Translated from croatian by Martina Pucelj