Pope, at Easter vigil, hopes for post-pandemic rebirth

Pope Francis celebrates the Easter Vigil in a near empty St. Peter's Basilica as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions stay in place for a second year running, at the Vatican, April 3, 2021. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/Pool

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, leading an Easter vigil service scaled down due to COVID-19, said on Saturday he hoped the dark times of the pandemic would end and that people could rediscover "the grace of everyday life".

This year has been the second consecutive Easter that all papal services are being attended by only about 200 people in a secondary altar of St. Peter's Basilica instead of the nearly 10,000 that the largest church in Christendom can hold.