Pentecost Mass

Pope: “Let us not be intimidated”

A little refreshment for Pope Francis during the Pentecost Mass(Bild: APA/AP)

Pope Francis once again called for peace on Pentecost Sunday. "We do not give up, but continue to speak of peace (...) We will not be intimidated by difficulties, nor by ridicule, nor by opposition, which is never lacking today as it was yesterday," said Francis in front of several hundred faithful and cardinals in St. Peter's Basilica. 

During Sunday prayers, the Pope expressed his wish for greater fraternity between Christians of different denominations and pleaded for "gestures of dialog" that could lead to the end of wars. Francis expressed his closeness to the people of the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, who have been suffering from heavy attacks by the Russian army for days.

The day before, the Pope visited Verona, where he chaired a discussion event called "Peace Arena".(Bild: APA/AP)

The Pope also expressly called for prayers for Palestine and Israel. The Pope, who made a day visit to Verona on Saturday, appeared to be in good health. 

What is celebrated at Pentecost
50 days after Easter, Christians celebrate the feast of Pentecost and the Easter period comes to an end. It is one of the high feasts in the Catholic church year. The feast commemorates the so-called miracle of speech at Pentecost. According to biblical tradition, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and they began to speak in foreign languages. As a result, they became one and were able to proclaim the message of Jesus to other people without a language barrier. Pentecost is therefore sometimes referred to as the "birthday of the Church".