Pope Leads Easter Celebrations

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has rallied from respiratory problems to lead some 30,000 people in Easter celebrations and make a strong appeal for a cease-fire in Gaza and a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine. Francis presided over Easter Sunday Mass in a flower-decked St. Peter’s Square. He then delivered a heartfelt prayer for peace in his annual roundup of global crises, delivered from the loggia overlooking the piazza. To applause from the wind-swept crowd below, Francis said that “peace is never made with weapons, but with outstretched hands and open hearts.”