Pope Francis defied Italian government advice to stay indoors and today walked to church through Rome’s deserted streets to pray for the end of coronavirus.
The Catholic leader had earlier delivered a blessing from his balcony window above an eerily empty St Peter’s Square, which has been closed to worshippers as part of the country’s sweeping lockdown.
Francis then left the Vatican to visit two churches in the Italian capital, first praying in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore before strolling down the usually bustling Via del Corso.
He headed to the St Marcello al Corso, which poignantly hosts a crucifix carried in a 1522 procession in Rome when the city was stricken with plague.
Flanked by his security detail, the 83-year-old pope, who has been nursing a cold, decided to walk through the streets ‘as if on a pilgrimage,’ Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.
His walkabout came just hours after it was announced that the Vatican’s Easter Holy Week ceremonies will go ahead behind closed doors so not to accelerate Italy’s sky-high infection rate.
Pope Francis defied Italian government advice to stay indoors and today walked to church through Rome’s deserted streets to pray for the end of coronavirus
This afternoon, he delivered a blessing from his balcony window above an eerily empty St Peter’s Square, which has been closed
Flanked by his security detail, Francis strolls down the usually bustling Via del Corso in Rome ‘as if on a pilgrimage,’ the Vatican said
St Peter’s Square has been shut to worshippers, but one faithful today wore a face mask and prayed outside during Francis’ blessing
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement that ‘as far as Holy Week liturgical celebrations are concerned, I can specify that all are confirmed.’
But Bruni added: ‘As things stand, under study are the ways they would be carried out and who would participate while respecting the security measures put in place to avoid spread of the coronavirus.’
He added that faithful will be able to follow the ceremonies on TV, radio and through online media.
Streaming sermons has already been implemented, and before delivering his blessing from the balcony today, Francis was filmed doing prayers safe inside the Vatican’s private library.
Vatican media added that ‘until April 12 the General Audiences and the Angelus presided over by the Holy Father will be available only in live streaming on the official Vatican News website.’
April 12 is Easter Sunday, when normally tens of thousands of faithful would fill St Peter’s Square for an outdoor papal Mass, listen to the pope’s speech and receive his blessing, delivered from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica.
Although Easter itself wasn’t specified in the Vatican statements, it appeared likely restrictions on large gatherings might well continue in Italy.
Francis headed to the St Marcello al Corso church (left), which has a crucifix carried in a 1522 procession in Rome when the city was stricken with plague (right)
His blessing above an empty square came just hours after it was announced that the Vatican’s Easter Holy Week ceremonies will go ahead behind closed doors so not to accelerate Italy’s sky-high infection rate
Streaming sermons has already been implemented, and before delivering his blessing from the balcony today, Francis was filmed doing prayers safe inside the Vatican’s private library
The Italian government has said it would decide whether measures, now in effect through April 3, would need extending or tightening.
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday on April 5, with tradition calling for an outdoor Mass in the square also on that day, when faithful clutch palm fronds and olive branches.
Italy, the center of Europe’s conoravirus outbreak is under severe lockdown, with the public restricted from leaving their homes except to buy food, go to work or a few other urgent reasons, and must stay at least one meter (about three feet) away from each other.
The disease for most people causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some, like the elderly and the fragile, it can cause more severe illness.
At 83 with one lung partially compromised, Francis is among the most vulnerable to the infection’s potentially deadly affects. The Vatican says he has had a cold in recent weeks.
Italy’s virus cases surged again Sunday, with 3,590 more cases in a 24-hour period for a total of 24,747.
Pope Francis prays at the Santa Maria Maggiore basilica for the end of the coronavirus pandemic, in Rome today
Deaths also jumped, with 368 additional patients, bringing the overall death toll to 1,809. The additional infections reported Sunday represented the biggest day-to-day increase so far in Italy.
With St Peter’s Square closed to the public, and one case of infection reported by the Vatican recently, Francis on Sunday delivered his traditional weekly commentary and blessing from the Apostolic Library instead of from a window overlooking the vast square.
Francis praised priests for ‘creativity’ in tending to their flocks, especially in the region of Lombardy, northern Italy, where thousands have been hospitalized or are in quarantine.
He said their efforts demonstrated there are ‘a thousand ways to be near’ to the faithful, if not physically.
Some churches in Italy are being allowed to stay open for individual prayer, but all public Masses are forbidden during Italy’s lockdown to discourage crowding.