Pope Francis condemned the brutality of the war in Ukraine during Easter Mass held at the Vatican, the Voice of America reported.

The mass was attended by Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Melitopol, Ukraine, who was detained by the Russian military last month and later released in a prisoner exchange.

Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re replaced the pope as chief clergyman at the service, during which the Easter procession marched in near total darkness up the central nave of the largest church in Christendom. The pope himself was unable to lead the service, presumably because of an exacerbation of sciatic neuralgia accompanied by severe pain in his legs, but Francis was present at the mass: he sat in a large white chair in front of the basilica and only stood up during the reading of the Gospel.

The pope read his homily sitting down. He stepped back from the pre-arranged text to acknowledge the presence at Mass of Ivan Fedorov, his family, and three Ukrainian parliamentarians. The pope condemned the "darkness and cruelty of war."

"We are praying for all the suffering. We can only give you our company, our prayer,'' Francis said

Francis concluded his homily with the phrase "Christ is risen" in Ukrainian.

On Easter Sunday, the most important day in the Christian liturgical calendar, the pope is to celebrate Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican and then deliver his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message and blessing.