“Peace be upon the suffering Ukraine, which has suffered so much from violence and devastation as a result of a brutal, senseless war.

May a new dawn of hope soon come in this terrible night of suffering and death!

Let's choose peace.

Let’s stop playing with muscles when people are suffering.

Please, let's not get used to the war, let's all join the call for peace from our balconies and on our streets!

Let the heads of state listen to the people's cries for peace.

Let them listen to this alarming question posed by scientists almost seventy years ago: "Do we agree to destroy the human race or to renounce war?" (Russell-Einstein Manifesto, July 9, 1955) year.

Francis hopes that the conflict in Europe will make him pay more attention to the situation of suffering and pain in other parts of the world, Vatican Radio reports.

Here he mentioned the Middle East, which for years has been torn apart by divisions and conflicts, including Israeli-Palestinian, wishing peace to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Libya.

The pope called on the faithful to pray for reconciliation in Myanmar, "where a dramatic scenario of hatred and violence is taking place," and in Afghanistan, "where the population is suffering from a dramatic humanitarian crisis."

"May peace reign over the entire African continent," he said, referring to the Sahel region, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa.

He also mentioned Latin America, where the pandemic is experiencing deteriorating social conditions, rising crime, violence, corruption and drug trafficking, as well as Canada, where a complex process of reconciliation between the Church and indigenous peoples is taking place.

On April 17, Catholics celebrate Easter, the day of Christ's Resurrection.

Protestants also celebrate Easter on this day.