text: Pope Francis urged the international community not to 'look the other way' and act over the killings of Christians around the globe, during his Easter Monday address. Speaking to tourists and Catholic pilgrims in St Peter's Square, the pontiff asked for 'tangible help' from communities all over the world for Christians persecuted because of their faith - but stopped short of suggesting what actions should be taken. The Pope, aged 78, has been increasingly vocal about the fate of Christians being targeted by Islamic extremists in parts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia. A gust of wind blows as Pope Francis gives his Easter Monday address. He urged the international community not to 'look the other way' as Christians across the world face violence and attacks because of their religion . Hundreds of Catholic pilgrims and tourists stood in St Peter's Square in Vatican City to listen to the Pope speak on Easter Monday. He urged for 'tangible help' to Christians being persecuted around the globe . The latest address follows his speech on Easter Sunday, where he said he was praying for the victims of armed conflict, including the students massacred by Somali gunmen at a university in Kenya. He was also building on his Good Friday denunciation of what he then called 'complicit silence' about the targeting of Christians. 'They are our martyrs of today, and they are many. We can say that they are more numerous than in the first centuries', Pope Francis said. During his address on Monday he praised those who were 'sensitizing public opinion about the persecution of Christians in the world' Pope Francis reaches out to bless the crowd gathered below. He said the international community must not stand 'mute' as Christians having their basic human rights taken away because of their faith . The reflection of the Vatican, where Pope Francis gave his speech, can bee seen in this woman's sunglasses as she films the event. Hundreds flocked to the Holy See of the Catholic church in Rome for the address . Speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, Pope Francis asked for 'concrete participation and tangible help in defense and protection of our brothers and our sisters, who are persecuted, exiled, slain, beheaded, solely for being Christian.' He added: 'I hope that the international community doesn't stand mute and inert before such unacceptable crimes, which constitute a worrisome erosion of the most elementary human rights. I truly hope that the international community doesn't look the other way.' On Thursday militant Islamist group al-Shabab attacked the Garissa University, killing 148 people. Survivors said the militants spared Muslim students but taunted Christian and Jewish students before killing them. Pope Francis has used his Easter addresses to urge greater protection for Christian communities, after Christian students were killed in an attack on a Kenyan university by militant Islamist group al-Shabab . In Iraq and Syria, the advance of Islamic State group fighters has forced members of ancient Christian communities to flee their homes. Statistics from the International Society for Human Rights show Christians are the victims of 80 per cent of all acts of religious discrimination in the world today. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby hailed the victims of the Kenyan university massacre during his Easter Sunday sermon, adding that Christians must resist without violence the persecution they suffer. This is Pope Francis' third Easter since he was elected in 2011 as the head of the Catholic Church, which has 1.2 billion members worldwide.
target: Pope Francis says Christians coming under increasing number of attacks .
  Asked for 'tangible help' for those 'persecuted solely for being Christian'
  Speech follows attack on Kenyan university which left 148 students dead .