Pope Francis was helped to his feet as he celebrated Good Friday mass in St Peter’s Basilica with no worshippers present as the Italian public obey strict lockdown rules triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
The head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State led the Good Friday Passion of the Lord with no public participation as millions of Italians stay at home over the weekend.
Francis has tested negative twice for Covid-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, after fears that the 83-year-old Pontiff might have contracted the disease intensified last month.
He was allegedly swabbed at St Martha’s guest house, which the Pope uses as his own resident. The building is also used by the Pop as a place to take meals and have private meetings.
Francis has been largely secluded since coming down with a cold at the end of February. Fears were first raised for the pope’s health on Ash Wednesday, when he fell ill with a cough, fever, chills and sore throat.
He tested negative for coronavirus, it was revealed on March 3, and is thought instead to have been suffering from a cold. The Pope also visits the Vatican Library to record messages for the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics.
There are concerns for the Argentine-born pope if he contracts the virus due to his age and previous health conditions. He lost part of his lung and suffered from sciatica, a nerve condition that causes pain in his hip.
Pope Francis was helped to his feet as he celebrated Good Friday mass in St Peter’s Basilica with no worshippers present as the Italian public obey strict lockdown rules triggered by the coronavirus pandemic
Francis tested negative for coronavirus, it was revealed on March 3, and is thought instead to have been suffering from a cold. The Pope also visits the Vatican Library to record messages for the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics
The head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State led the Good Friday Passion of the Lord with no public participation as millions of Italians stay at home over the weekend
Francis has tested negative twice for Covid-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, after fears that the 83-year-old Pontiff might have contracted the disease intensified last month
He was allegedly swabbed at St Martha’s guest house, which the Pope uses as his own resident. The building is also used by the Pop as a place to take meals and have private meetings
Francis has been largely secluded since coming down with a cold at the end of February. Fears were first raised for the pope’s health on Ash Wednesday, when he fell ill with a cough, fever, chills and sore throat
There are concerns for the Argentine-born pope if he contracts the virus due to his age and previous health conditions. He lost part of his lung and suffered from sciatica, a nerve condition that causes pain in his hip
It comes after an Italian archbishop who has represented the Vatican in the US and Europe called for a global exorcism prayed on Saturday to defeat the coronavirus pandemic.
Carlo Maria Vigano told followers to recite an exorcism prayer to expel ‘Satan’ as the pandemic has sent millions into lockdown. He sent the message to the faithful to say the ‘Exorcism against Satan and the apostate angels’ psalm at home as mass gatherings including church services have been banned in much of Europe and the US.
First published by Pope Leo XIII in 1890, the prayer was written ‘to curb the power of the devil and prevent him doing harm’.Vigano said that people should join together in the same prayer over Easter.
In an article written for Catholic new outlet, Life Site, Vigano wrote that as Christians cannot visit confession, they should still continue ‘praying to our Lord’ against ‘the Evil One’.
He said: ‘In these modern times of terrible tribulation, when the pandemic has deprived Catholics of Holy Mass and the Sacraments, the Evil One has gone into a frenzy and multiplied his attacks to tempt souls into sin.
‘These blessed days of Holy Week, which used to be the ideal time to go to Confession to prepare ourselves for our Easter Communion, now see us locked inside our houses, but they cannot stop us praying to Our Lord.’
Vigano added that ‘there is no need to go out, or to breach any of the laws currently in force’ when praying against the devil. The archbishop also asked his fellow priests to join the prayer and to wear a stole.
Carlo Maria Vigano listening to remarks at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual fall meeting in Baltimore in 2015 when he was Apostolic Nuncio to the US. He accused Pope Francis of covering up the sexual misconduct of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and rehabilitating him from sanctions imposed by Pope Benedict XVI
Carlo Maria Vigano (right) and Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke (left) at a ‘National March for Life’ against abortion and euthanasia in Rome in 2018. The march was attended by families, children, and many volunteers