THE Holy Father will deliver his annual Easter message to the world over a Europe-wide television hook-up at 11 a.m. (GMT) on Easter Sunday.
The Pope will read the address from the central balcony of St. Peter's and will follow it with the Papal Blessing Urbi et Orbi—to the City and to the World.
The message will be broadcast by Vatican Radio on the usual wavelengths. Listeners in Britain should be able to hear it either on Radio Hilversum (402m.) at 11.15 a.m.; or on Radio Eireann (530m. and 240m.) at 11.45 a.m. (recording).
Many thousands of pilgrims who have been arriving in Rome over the past week or so to attend the Holy Week and Easter ceremonies, will gather in St. Peter's Square to hear the address and receive the Blessing.
On Palm Sunday the Holy Father spoke to some 30,000 exServicemen and relatives of missing men and prisoners telling them that "Nothing is lost by peace, everything can be lost by war".
These words, he recalled, were the same words he used before the outbreak of the last war, and added that a new world war would be dreadful, as never before, terrifying and disastrous to all humanity.
The day's ceremonies aimed at recalling the fact that there arc still 131,419 Italian servicemen, including some 70,200 in Russia. who have not been accounted for since the end of the war.
The Holy Father received his Palm Sunday palm from his sacristan, Bishop van Lierde, but because of the chilly and rainy weather did not make his usual Palm Sunday appearance at the window of his study.