Under a warm sun, the crowd applauded and waved flags from around the world at the end of the service.
Green netting and scaffolding used in a restoration project at St. Peter's covered about half of the front of the massive church.
Pink carnations and azaleas, orange-red tulips and yellow daffodils were everywhere. Yellow-orange zinnias nearly covered the altar.
Helena Shultz, her head covered with a black mantilla, stood in a front row next to Foreign Minister Giulio Andreotti, who met with Shultz in Rome Saturday. The U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, William Wilson, was at Shultz's side.
The Pope received the Shultzes in a private audience at the Vatican early Saturday evening.
John Paul ended the service by saying "Happy Easter" or "Christ is risen" in 49 languages, including Maltese, Tamil, Vietnamese, Arabic and Hebrew. He concluded with a longer greeting in his native Polish and Latin.