Vatican City, Mar 26, 2008 / 08:56 am
On Easter Monday, the Pope simultaneously addressed pilgrims at Castelgandolfo and in St. Peter’s Square on the subject of the Easter exclamation “Hallelujah”.
After the grueling schedule of Easter celebrations, Pope Benedict traveled to the Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo to rest. The synchronized prayer and reflection with the faithful gathered at St. Peter’s was made possible by a television linkup.
Before praying the Regina Coeli, the Pope remarked upon the singing of Hallelujah, the word that in the wake of Lent and the Passion passes "from mouth to mouth, from heart to heart". It "echoes forth", he said, "from an absolutely new event: the death and resurrection of Christ."
"This experience", said the Holy Father, "has forever inscribed the word 'Hallelujah' in the heart of the Church." From her heart "derives also the prayer we recite today and on every day of the Easter period ... the Regina Coeli. Its text is brief and has the direct form of an announcement. It is like a new 'annunciation' to Mary, this time not by an angel but by Christians who invite the mother to joy because her Son ... rose again as He promised."