Cardinal Dolan, Paradegoers Celebrate Easter

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York's Cardinal Timothy Dolan marked Easter in an unusual way: praying amid massive construction scaffolding.

The city's Roman Catholic archbishop celebrated Mass Sunday at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. Restoration work surrounds the altar as part of a $175 million project to fix cracks and clean walls darkened by decades of soot and pollution.

"Thanks for your patience with our spring cleaning at our beloved St. Patrick's Cathedral," Dolan said at the standing-room-only Mass. "The cathedral we love is under repair and restoration, but so is the church."

He joked that it must be an important day because even the media came to church, 1010 WINS' Derricke Dennis reported.

But then Dolan got serious about growing closer to Christ.

"Be not afraid to admit that you need God," he said. "Be not afraid to admit that there's a yearning, a hunger, a restlessness, a gap, a hole in your heart that only God can fill."

Dolan prayed for the young people who died in the South Korean ship sinking, as well as two children who perished in a fire late Saturday night in Far Rockaway, Queens.

Cardinal Dolan also spoke about Jesus filling a void.

"He hard wired us for him and there's an emptiness within, a restlessness until we seek him," Dolan said.

Dolan told CBS' Face The Nation that he believes that Pope Francis is spreading that sentiment as well.

"Here you have a guy who is genuine, and simple, and sincere. He doesn't need anyone to script him," he said.

In St. Peter's Square the Pope prayed for peace in war torn regions of the world like Syria and Ukraine.

Outside on Fifth Avenue, the annual display of Easter attire ranged from traditional hats and pastels to some of the zaniest secular costumes.

Serafina Reichmutch told CBS 2's Janelle Burrell that she made her hat and shoes by herself.

"I cut it out of foam," she said.

Nola from Brooklyn poked fun on this year's merciless winter with her snowman Easter bonnet.

"What I wanted to do, since it was just a cold and snowy winter, I wanted to reflect on that while still with the pink tie and pink hat, bring like signs of spring to it," she told WCBS 880's Monica Miller.

"It really is so much fun," one man said. "This is the third year that we've done hats, and it's a nice tradition. It's nice to see everybody smiling and having a good time and just being friendly and together."

The city's Easter weekend started Friday when the cardinal -- bearing a wooden cross -- led thousands of faithful across the Brooklyn Bridge.

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