Pope Francis leads weekly Angelus prayer through live-stream due to coronavirus epidemic
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Tourists and Catholic faithful wearing medical face masks watch a giant screen installed at St Peter’s Square, Vatican City, 08 March 2020.
Pope Francis decided to lead the weekly Sunday Angelus prayer from within the library of the Apostolic Palace, which was broadcast through livestreaming technology, amid the ongoing coronavirus epidemic ravaging Italy.
During his Angelus address on Sunday the Pope’s thoughts turned to the people of Syria. He began by greeting all those who had “come together to express their solidarity with the Syrian people”, in particular, he said, “those who live in Idlib,and in Northwest Syria”.
Pope Francis concluded his appeal in prayer, urging that this situation be given “priority in respect to every other interest” and stressing the importance that we do “not look away from this humanitarian crisis”.
Tourists and Catholic faithful wearing medical face masks watch a giant screen installed at St Peter’s Square, Vatican City, 08 March 2020. EPA-EFE/RICCARDO ANTIMIANI
Italian authorities have taken the drastic measure of shutting off the entire northern Italian region of Lombardy – home to about 16 million people – in a bid to halt the ongoing coronavirus epidemic in the Mediterranean country.
A view of empty chairs at St Peter’s Square, Vatican City, 08 March 2020. EPA-EFE/RICCARDO ANTIMIANI
The number of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in Italy has jumped up to at least 5,883, while the death toll has surpassed 230, making Italy the nation with the third-highest number of infections (behind China and South Korea) and the second-highest death toll after China.
