Pope Francis urged the faithful to translate the sacraments they received during Easter Sunday into their daily lives as he addressed tens of thousands the day after the holiest day in the Christian calendar.
Speaking from a window in the pontifical palace the new pope urged the faithful crowded into St. Peter’s Square “to express in life the sacraments that we have received.”
“It’s our daily engagement, but also our daily joy, the joy of feeling the instrument of Christ’s grace.”
The sacraments of the eucharist and baptism “should become life and thus translate into attitudes, behaviour, gestures and choices” he said to a warm response from the crowd that gathered in crisp temperatures to see the new pope.
The pontiff was speaking during the traditional Regina Coeli prayer following his first Easter Sunday as leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.