Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026
My Dear Friends,
Christ is risen! He is truly risen!
Each year the Church proclaims these words with great joy. Yet this year, perhaps more than others, we proclaim them in a world that seems burdened with uncertainty and suffering. Around the globe we see war and violence, e.g., in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Central Asia. In our own nation, we continue to witness tensions around immigration and the painful reality that human dignity is not always respected. Families here at home struggle with rising costs, economic uncertainty, and the anxiety of a tight job market. Locally, more people than ever before are turning to Catholic Charities of Fairfield County for help to meet their basic needs in life.
In moments like these, many people ask a simple but profound question: Where is hope?
The answer we celebrate today is this: our hope has a name, and His name is Jesus Christ.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is our highest religious solemnity because it is literally the most decisive moment in human history. When Jesus rose from the dead, He conquered sin, suffering, and death itself. In doing so, He revealed the deepest truth about our lives: that we are loved beyond measure and called to eternal life with God.
My friends, Easter reminds us that the story of the world does not end with Good Friday. The suffering of the cross is real, but it is not the final word. The final word belongs to God and that Word is life. This truth matters greatly in the world we are living in today.
When we see conflict and war, Easter reminds us that violence and hatred will not ultimately prevail. When families struggle with economic pressures and uncertainty about the future, Easter reminds us that God walks with us even in the most difficult moments.
When we witness divisions in society or situations where the dignity of human persons is ignored or forgotten, Easter reminds us that every person is created in the image of God and redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ. The Resurrection tells us that darkness never has the last word.
Universal in scope and stretching across all of time, Easter is also a deeply personal reality. The Resurrection means that our lives can begin again.
Through His death and Resurrection, Jesus offers us forgiveness for our sins, healing for our wounds, and the possibility of becoming the people God created us to be. No failure, no regret, no sin is greater than the mercy of God. This is the heart of the Christian message: God’s love for us is total and unconditional. He loves us because we are His children, with all our defects, mistakes and imperfections. And because of that love, He sent His Son to redeem us.
My friends, this truth is touching hearts in a remarkable way in our time. Across the United States and throughout the world, more and more people are discovering the beauty of the Catholic faith. Many are entering the Church, seeking meaning, truth, and a relationship with Jesus Christ. In our diocese alone this Easter nearly 600 people are becoming Catholic.
In a culture that often feels restless and searching, people are discovering that the Gospel still speaks to the deepest longings of the human heart. They are discovering that Christ is alive and wants to walk with them and be close to them each day.
This should fill us with great hope for the future of the Church. The Holy Spirit is at work. Hearts are opening. Lives are being transformed. But even more important than the growth of the Church is the purpose for which Christ rose from the dead: our salvation. The Resurrection is God’s promise that eternal life is real and that we are created for heaven. Given all of this, everything in our lives ultimately leads to this question: will we accept the love God offers us and follow His Son?
The Risen Lord invites each of us to walk with Him, to live lives of faith, mercy, forgiveness, and charity. He calls us to love one another, to care for the poor and vulnerable, to defend the dignity of every human person, and to bring His light into a world that often feels dark. This is how the hope of Easter spreads: from heart to heart, from family to family, from parish to parish. When we live as disciples of the Risen Christ, the world begins to change.
My dear friends, the empty tomb tells us that God’s love is stronger than sin, stronger than suffering, and even stronger than death. And that means no matter what challenges we face — in our families, our communities, or our world — we never walk alone. Christ walks with us. He is alive.
And because He lives, hope is always possible and is, in fact, superabundant!
May the joy of the Risen Lord fill your hearts and your homes this Easter season. And may Mary, the Mother of the Risen Savior, accompany us as we continue our journey of faith. A blessed and joyful Easter to all of you.
Christ is risen! Alleluia!
Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano
Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport
