ROME — Celebrated Evangelist Franklin Graham will proclaim an Easter message live from Rome, Italy, next Sunday just blocks from where Pope Francis will be issuing his.
“Next Sunday, April 9, join me as I share an Easter message from Rome and we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ with powerful music by Michael W. Smith,” Rev. Graham invited his 10 million Facebook followers.
“Make plans to watch on the Fox News Channel at Noon ET/9AM PT Easter Sunday or check other time and station listings here: BillyGraham.org,” he added.
The dueling Easter messages will not be delivered simultaneously, since Pope Francis will issue his from Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican at 12:00 noon, Rome time, six hours before Graham delivers his.
Franklin Graham will offer his Easter Message 2023 from Rome.
Pope Francis bounced back from a respiratory infection this week, officiating at a Palm Sunday Mass just one day after being discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. Complaining of chest pains and breathing difficulties, the pope had been rushed to the hospital in an ambulance Wednesday.
The pontiff presided over Sunday’s Mass from a chair in front of the main altar, while Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, the former prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Eastern Churches, celebrated at the altar.
Palm Sunday fell on April 2 this year, the 18th anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II. On that day in 2005, when the pontiff could no longer speak, it was the same Cardinal Sandri who spoke in the pope’s stead.
If all goes as planned, Pope Francis will proclaim his traditional Urbi et Orbi (to the City and to the World) message and apostolic blessing on Easter Sunday, in which he typically offers a survey of the state of the world, highlighting conflicts and situations of injustice and praying for their peaceful resolution.
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