Carrying Candle In Dark, Pope Recalls Suffering ‘Let The Lord Hear The Cry Of These Poor Ones And Guide Them On The Road Toward Peace And Liberty,’ He Says Of Albania, Zaire During Easter Vigil At Vatican

In a dazzling Easter vigil service, Pope John Paul II Saturday night recalled the suffering of people in Zaire and Albania.

Carrying a candle through the darkness, John Paul led a procession in St. Peter’s Basilica while about 20,000 worshipers slowly lit their own candles.

At the words “Lumen Christ” - “Light of Christ” in Latin - the basilica suddenly filled with light in one of the most dramatic services held there each year.

Later, John Paul baptized 10 people from symbolically chosen lands.

They included two young women from Albania and two young men from Zaire. In his address, John Paul said the two countries were “living dramatic hours in their history.”

Albania has been gripped by increasingly violent unrest since January, when thousands of citizens lost money in failed investment schemes. Nearly 200 people have died and hundreds have been injured in the growing anti-government rebellion.

Zairian rebels have been fighting since September to topple a 31-year dictatorship in that vast central African country, accusing the president of abusing Zaire’s mineral resources to enrich himself while ordinary Zairians grow poorer.

“Let the Lord hear the cry of these poor ones and guide them on the road toward peace and liberty,” the pope said, referring to the people of both countries.

Two people from China and two from Taiwan also received the sacrament, as well as individuals from Cape Verde and Benin.

The Vatican does not have diplomatic relations with China, which the pope has urged to grant full religious freedom to Roman Catholics. The Holy See is one of the few states to have ties with Taiwan. China has cited those ties as an obstacle to improving relations with the Vatican.