Pope Benedict's Special Easter Monday Angelus(English Translation)

Thanks to the Ratzinger Forum for the quick translation.

At 12 noon today, Easter Monday - known in Italy as the Monday of the Angel, in honor of the angel at the Sepulcher who told Mary Magdalene and her companions that the Lord had risen - the Holy Father led the recitation of the Regina Caeli from the balcony overlooking the inner courtyard of the Apostolic Palace at Castel Gandolfo.

The Pope arrived at the papal lakeside residence yesterday afternoon for a period of rest following the Holy Week activities. The noonday event was broadcast live to St. Peter's Square for the benefit of the faithful gathered there. Here is a translation of the Holy Father's homily and messages:

Dear brothers and sisters:

In the solemn Easter Vigil, after the days of Lent, the chant of Alleluia - a universally known Hebrew word which means "Praise the Lord" - resounded once more. During these days of Eastertide, this invitation to praise the Lord will echo on everyone's lips and in everyone's heart. It re-echoes from an event that is always absolutely new: the death and resurrection of Christ. 'Alleluia' sprung in the hearts of the first disciples of Christ, men and women, on that Easter morning in Jerusalem...

We can almost hear their voices: That of Mary of Magdala, who was the first to see the risen Lord in the garden near Calvary. The voices of the women who met him while they were running, frightened but happy, to give the Apostles the news of the empty tomb. The voices of the two disciples, who were on their way to Emmaus with sad faces, and in the evening, returned to Jerusalem full of joy for having heard his words and recognizing him when 'he broke the bread'.

The voices of the eleven Apostles, who that same evening, saw him appear in their midst at the Cenacle, to show them the wounds caused by the nails and the soldier's lance and to tell them: "Peace be upon you!" This experience has inscribed 'Alleluia' forever in the heart of the Church. From that same experience comes the prayer which we recite today and every day during Eastertide in place of the Angelus - the Marian antiphon, Regina Caeli (Queen of Heaven).

The text is brief, and has the direct form of an announcement: it is like a new 'annunciation' to Mary, this time made not by an angel, but by Christians who invite the Mother to rejoice because her Son, whom she had borne in the womb, had risen as he promised. Indeed, "Rejoice' was also the first word addressed to the Virgin Mary in Nazareth by the heavenly messenger, to mean: "Rejoice, Mary, because the Son of God is become Man in you." And now, after the drama of the Passion, a new call to joy resounds: "Rejoice and be happy, Mary, alleluia, because the Lord has truly risen, alleluia!"

Dear brothers and sisters, let us allow the Easter Allelulia to be imprinted profoundly in us, so that it is not only a word but the expression itself of our life, of the existence of persons who invite everyone to praise the Lord and do so by behaving as 're-risen' persons. "Pray to the Lord for us," we ask Mary, so that he who, in the resurrection of his Son, gave back joy to the whole world, will grant us this joy today and in life without end.

Regina Coeli

Regina coeli, laetare, alleluia:

R. Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia;

Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia:

R. Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia:

R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

Oremus

Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi, mundum laetificare

dignatus es: praesta, quaesumus, ut per eius Genitricem Virginem Mariam,

perpetuae

capiamus gaudia vitae.

Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto

R. Sicut erat in principio et nunc

et semper et in secula seculorum. Amen.

Réquiem aetérnam dona eis Dómine:

R. Et lux perpétua lúceat eis.

Requiéscant in pace.

Queen of Heaven

V. Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.

R. For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia

V. Has risen, as he said, alleluia.

R. Pray for us to God, alleluia.

V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.

R. For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life.

Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. Glory be to the Father....

Eternal rest grant unto them...

After the prayer, the Pope greeted the various language groups. In English, he said:

To the English-speaking pilgrims gathered for today’s Regina Caeli, I offer greetings of Easter joy. Christ has conquered the world! His victory over sin and death fills our hearts with burning hope. As we celebrate the Paschal feast, let us radiate his peace, grace and love in all we say and do. Happy Easter!

Before his final greeting in Italian, he had these special messages: In the light of the Risen Christ, the annual Day of Prayer and Fasting for the Missionary Martyrs which takes place today acquires special value. To remember and pray for these our brothers and sisters - bishops, priests, religious and laymen - who fell in 2007 while carrying out their missionary service, is a duty of gratitude for the whole Church and a stimulus for each of us to bear witness in an ever more courageous way to our faith and our hope in him who, on the Cross, conquered for always the power of hate and violence with the omnipotence of his love.

Today we also mark the annual World Day for the fight against tuberculosis. I feel particularly close to the afflicted and their families, and I hope that commitment may grow on the itnernational level to eliminate this scourge. My appeal is addressed above all to Catholic institutions, so that those who suffer may acknowledge, through their work, the Risen Lord who will give them healing, comfort and peace.

Finally, I greet all the Italian-speaking pilgrims, with a special thought for the authorities and residents of Castel Gandolfo who are always so hospitable. To each and everyone, I hope that you may spend serenely this Monday of the Angel, on which the joyous anoouncement of Easter resounds so strongly. A Happy and blessed Eastertide to all.