“A serene Easter, bearer of a renewal and of proclamation of a better world,” were the words to Pope Francis of the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Riccardo Di Segni, as reported by Vatican Radio on Monday, April 6, 2020.
Inviting to “renew the bonds of friendship and engagement with the most destitute of our society, in particular in the present test we are going through, Pope Francis expressed his “most sincere good wishes” to the Chief Rabbi and to the whole Jewish Community of Rome, on the occasion of the feast of Pessa’h,” noted Vatican Radio.
“May the Almighty, who freed His beloved people from slavery and led them to the Promised Land, accompany you today again with the abundance of His blessings,” wrote Pope Francis in his message, before concluding: “Be assured of my remembrance in prayer and I ask you, kindly, to continue to pray for me.”
For his part, Rabbi Di Segni thanked Pope Francis and expressed his good wishes, stressing that “this year human existence has been overwhelmed by the present epidemic, which is the source of mourning, fears <and> economic and social disasters.”
“We are all engaged in helping, comforting, soliciting an examination of conscience and of asking for our Creator’s help,” said the Chief Rabbi, before adding that in fact in these times “we measure concretely the common values of our respective faiths and the necessity to work together for the common good.”
The Rabbi expressed the wish that it be, “despite all, a serene Easter feast, bearer of a renewal and of the proclamation of a better world.”
