By David Willey BBC Rome correspondent

Pope John Paul II has led a vigil celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ in St Peter's Basilica in Rome, a venue packed with Easter pilgrims.

The first mass of Easter began at night with the huge basilica plunged into darkness.

The Pope, as he has done every Easter since his election 25 years ago, then lit a single candle.

The Pope welcomed new converts into the Catholic Church

The flame he kindled then lit more than 10,000 candles held by pilgrims, and the basilica floodlights were switched on to symbolically mark Christ's resurrection.

In his homily, limited this year to purely religious themes, the Pope said the resurrection of Jesus Christ was destined to change the course of history and continued to resound from generation to generation.

During the ceremony, the Pope welcomed seven new converts from Africa and America into the Catholic Church by baptising them.

The pontiff, who will next month celebrate his 83rd birthday, has difficulty in walking, and moved around the basilica on a mobile throne pushed by attendants.

But despite the afflictions of age, he insisted on carrying out all the traditional Easter week ceremonies, and on Sunday will again appear in public to give his customary Easter message to the city of Rome and to the world.

In it, he is expected to refer to the war in Iraq, which he did his utmost to prevent by sending envoys to US President George W Bush in Washington and to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in Baghdad.

He also received personally at the Vatican many key political figures, including the deputy Iraqi premier, Tariq Aziz, and Britain's Prime Minister, Tony Blair.