Pope Francis has made a brief appearance at St Peter's Square to bless the thousands gathered for Easter Sunday.
The pope, who is still recovering from a near-fatal bout of double pneumonia, drew cheers and applause from the gathered crowds.
"Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter," he said, his voice sounding stronger than it has since his hospitalisation.
The pontiff did not celebrate the Easter mass in the piazza, delegating it to Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the retired archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica.
But after the mass ended, the pope appeared on the loggia balcony over the basilica entrance.
The thousands of people below erupted in cheers as a military band kicked off a round of the Holy See and Italian anthem.
Pope Francis waved from the balcony before asking an aide to read his speech, which condemned a "growing climate of anti-Semitism" and the "deplorable humanitarian situation" in Gaza, reiterating calls for a ceasefire.
"There can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others,"
the speech said.
Following the address, he toured St Peter's Square in his pope-mobile.
Pope cuts back on workload
Pope Francis has only appeared in public a handful of times since returning to the Vatican on March 23 after a 38-day hospital stay.
He has sharply cut back his workload to follow doctors’ orders of two months of convalescence and respiratory therapy to improve his lung function.
He still appears to require great effort to project his voice, and his breathing remains laboured.
He skipped the solemn services of Good Friday and Holy Saturday leading up to Easter, but was expected to make an appearance on Sunday, according to the mass booklet and liturgical plans released by the Vatican.
This year, Easter is being celebrated on the same day by Catholics and Orthodox Christians.
Pope ramps up post-hospital appearances
Hannah Brockhaus, who is a senior Vatican correspondent for US catholic news organisation EWTN, said the pontiff's latest appearance showed he was becoming more active following his 38-day hospital stay.
This is despite Pope Francis's doctors telling him to limit his workload after his bout with pneumonia.
"It's not terribly surprising to me, actually, that he is already starting to come out more and more from this recovery period and to meet with more and more people," Brockhaus told the ABC.
"He isn't one who likes to listen too much to doctor's orders in the first place."
She said it would have been "painful" for the 88-year-old to not make an appearance at Easter, given its importance to Catholics and his reputation as a pope "who loves to be with the people".
"And I hope, as things continue, as he picks up his work, as he continues to improve, we'll just see him get stronger and stronger, and hopefully be able to return to how things were before."
Meeting with JD Vance
On his way to the basilica, the pope also met briefly in his hotel with US Vice-President JD Vance, a Catholic who was spending Easter in Rome with his family.
Mr Vance, who has clashed with the pontiff over the Trump administration's immigration policies, met with the pope to exchange Easter greetings.
"Pope Francis had a brief private encounter ... lasting a few minutes, in order to exchanges good wishes on Easter day," the Vatican said in a statement.
Mr Vance also met senior Vatican officials for more formal talks on Saturday.
Pope Francis has previously called the Trump administration's immigration crackdown a "disgrace" and a "major crisis" for the United States.
ABC/AP/Reuters
