MONTREAL - Montrealers flocked to church Easter Sunday, even though many confessed that going to church wasn't something they do every weekend.

Adriana Mancuso was one such non-regular in attendance at the St. Monica's Church in NDG Sunday.

"I don't come every Sunday, but at least I make it every Easter," she said.

Services such as the one held at the 49-year-old St. Monica's were held in over 200 Catholic churches and chapels throughout Montreal.

Father Raymond Lafontaine spread the message that Easter Sunday is meant to represent more than Christ's resurrection. He calls it an elemental and universal springtime celebration.

"It's the triumph of life over death. It's the triumph of joy over sadness. It's the triumph of light over darkness," Lafontaine after he patrolled the aisles of St. Monica and sprinkled worshipers with holy water.

Parishioners renewed their baptismal promises and received an Easter blessing with the newly-blessed baptismal water. They were also asked to receive Communion, something they are meant to do at least once during the Eastern season.

Jessica Mancuso was impressed by the size of the ceremony. "It brings everyone together and coming to church reminds you of your roots" she said.

But her little sister was a bit more eager to dig into the Easter chocolate.

"The mass was long but I have to get used to that and I liked the chocolates at the end," said little sister Adriana Mancuso.

The only downer is that three parishioners reported that their cars were ticketed while they were attending services.

"That would be unfortunate. It certainly is not a very joyful thing," said Father Lafontaine.

In other Easter Sunday news around the world:

  • Many church services were cancelled in Atlantic Canada after parts of the region were hit by up to 15 centimeters of snow.
  • A six-year-old child was killed in France after a floor collapsed inside a building hosting an Easter religious service in Stains, a town near Paris.
  • Moravian Christians in North Carolina held their Easter sunrise service for the 240th consecutive year in Winston-Salem North Carolina Sunday.
  • Many not in church chose instead to go see The Hunger Games, as the film scored $33.5 over the Easter weekend to lead the box office for the third straight week.
  • Thousands of worshipers turned out for an outdoor Easter morning service featuring an appearance by New York Jets backup quarterback Tim Tebow at a central Texas church.
  • The All Nations Christian Assembly Church in Kaduna Nigeria was rocked by a nearby car bomb as churchgoers worshiped at an Easter service. The explosion on the busy roadway Sunday morning in the central Nigeria city killed at least 38 people in the latest attack on a region beset by religious, ethnic and political violence.
  • In Britain, Queen Elizabeth II attended a traditional Easter Sunday service at Windsor Castle with three generations of the royal family attending the service at St. George's Chapel.