Easter celebrated around the world
NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - Worshippers packed St. Peter's Square to see Pope Francis lead his annual Easter Sunday mass.
They went to the cobblestone square, decorated with colorful spring flowers, to hear the pope deliver his blessing and message of hope for the world.
While in Jerusalem, Christian faithfuls came from many countries and went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where Jesus was said to have been crucified and resurrected.
A service was also held in the west bank city of Bethlehem, in the Church of the Nativity, the place where Christian tradition said Jesus was born.
In New York, thousands attended Easter Sunday services at St. Patrick's Cathedral Sunday morning. It was one of many services across the area marking the holy holiday.
Thousands of worshippers came together- all of them with a different story.
"To come to mass today, my parents were married in St. Patrick's in 1942 during the middle of World War II," said Emely Verba-Green of Wisconsin.
"It's just really a time for people to get together with their families and share meals,
said 12-year-old Gabby Salas.
Sisters Constance and Tracy were overwhelmed by the opportunity to hear Cardinal Timothy Dolan's sermon.
"The one that has the last laugh has the best laugh, and it was a very blessed message and he was very happy, we had a full house," said Sister Constance.
Cardinal Dolan urged his fellow worshippers to spread a message of inclusion to all groups of people and to always put their faith in god.
At St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral on the Upper East Side, there was more holiday celebration going on. This year, the orthodox churches celebrate Easter on the same day as the Roman Catholics and the Protestants. It's rare because the western Christian church follows the Gregorian calendar, while the eastern orthodox uses the older Julian calendar. The two Easters are often weeks apart, and for these young Russian women, was an extra special year.
"Just the fact that there are so many people coming from different countries, different places, but celebrating the same holiday, same date, it's just amazing," they said.
Everyone celebrates Easter for a different reason- whether it's the religious aspect of it or just spending time with their families, but many told Fox 5 that there is no better place to spend this holiday, than here in New York.