Nearly 800 attend Easter service celebrated by Bishop Ruggieri

“In Jesus, we see what love looks like—faithful, sacrificial, merciful, and complete.”

Nearly 800 were in attendance as Bishop James Ruggieri celebrated Easter Sunday Mass this morning at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the culmination of Holy Week. The Mass was concelebrated by Father Sylvester Nwaokolo, OP, parochial vicar for the Portland Peninsula and Island Parishes.

During his homily, Bishop Ruggieri turned to an unexpected image: that of Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. Scrooge’s conversion, the bishop explained, comes when he is finally able to see his life truthfully—not in fragments or excuses, but as a whole. That honest encounter with truth awakens his humanity and his capacity for love.

Every person, Bishop Ruggieri noted, wrestles with deep questions of meaning: Who am I? Why am I here? How am I meant to live and love? Many carry hidden restlessness, regret, fatigue, or disappointment, appearing “fine” on the outside while feeling unsettled within.

Easter, Bishop Ruggieri proclaimed, offers something far greater. The truth of our lives is revealed not as a series of memories or previews of the future, but in a person: Jesus Christ, risen from the dead. Jesus does not merely show us how to live; He enters our lives and gives us His own life. In Him, we see what authentic love looks like—faithful, sacrificial, merciful—and what humanity is meant to become when united with the Father.

Turning to the Gospel account of the women at the tomb, which included Mary Magdelan and Mary, mother of James, Bishop Ruggieri highlighted the first words spoken to them: “Do not be afraid.” Those words transform the women from mourners into witnesses, encountering the Risen Christ.

During the service, the congregation renewed baptismal promises while being blessing with holy water by Bishop Ruggieri and Father Nwaokolo.