Pope Francis says “peace is never made with weapons” at Easter Sunday mass in St. Peter’s Square

Recovering from a winter of respiratory problems, Pope Francis led some 30,000 people in Easter celebrations on Sunday and made a strong call for a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine.

Francis presided Easter Sunday Mass in a flower-filled St. Peter’s Square, then delivered a heartfelt prayer for peace during his annual roundup of global crises. In the meantime, he made several rounds around the square in his popemobile, greeting well-wishers.

“Peace is never made with weapons, but with outstretched hands and an open heart,” Francis said from the loggia overlooking the square, to applause from the windswept crowd.

Francis seemed in good shape, even though he had celebrated the two-and-a-half-hour all-night Easter vigil a few hours before. The pontiff, who had part of a lung removed when he was young, suffered from respiratory problems all winter.

THE co-author of a new pontiff’s memoir told CBS News earlier this month that Francis was only thinking about resigning because reporters were asking him about it.

“In the book we talk about resignation,” said Fabio Marchese Ragona. “He said, ‘I’m fine right now, I’m not thinking about resignation.'”

The Vatican said about 30,000 people attended the mass, with more gathering on the Via della Conciliazione boulevard leading to the square. At the start of the service, a gust of wind toppled a large religious icon on the altar a few meters from the pope; the bailiffs quickly straightened it out.

The Easter Mass is one of the most important dates in the liturgical calendar, celebrating what the faithful believe to be the resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion. The Mass precedes the pope’s “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) blessing, during which the pope traditionally draws up a long list of threats facing humanity.

This year, Francis said his thoughts were particularly with the people of Ukraine and Gaza and all those facing war, especially children who he said had “forgotten how to smile.”

“By calling for respect for the principles of international law, I express my hope for a general exchange of all prisoners between Russia and Ukraine: everything for the good of all!” he said.

He called for the “rapid” release of prisoners taken from Israel on October 7, an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and humanitarian access to the Palestinians.

“Let us not allow the current hostilities to continue to have serious repercussions on the civilian population, now at the limit of its endurance, and especially on children,” he said in a speech that also addressed the plight of Haitians, Rohingyas and victims of human trafficking.

Since a few weeks, Francis generally avoided give long speeches to avoid tiring your breathing. He abandoned his Palm Sunday homily last week and decided at the last minute to stay home after the Good Friday procession to the Colosseum.

The Vatican said in a brief explanation that the decision was taken to “preserve his health.”

The decision clearly bore fruit, as Francis was able to recite the prayers at the long Saturday evening Easter Vigil, including administering the sacraments of baptism and first communion to eight new Catholics, and preside over the Sunday Mass of Easter and deliver his speech.

Francis was not the only leader whose mere presence at Easter offered a reassuring sign of stability and normalcy.

In Britain, King Charles III joined the Queen and other members of the royal family for an Easter service at Windsor Castle in his most significant public outing since he was diagnosed with cancer last month last.

The monarch happily greeted spectators as he entered St. George’s Chapel. A member of the audience shouted “Happy Easter” and Charles replied “And yours”.

But things were hardly normal in Jerusalem, where Easter mass came and went at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Only a few dozen worshipers attended the service as the war between Israel and Hamas rages in Gaza.

The medieval church in the old town is the holy place where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.

In recent years, the church was filled with worshipers and tourists. But the bloody conflict in Gaza, now in its sixth month, has led to a considerable drop in tourism and pilgrimages to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The streets of the Old City were also absent of Palestinian Christians from the West Bank, who usually flock to the Holy City for Easter. Since the start of the conflict, Palestinian worshipers in territories occupied by Israel have needed special permission to cross checkpoints into Jerusalem.