Pope Francis leads the Pentecost Mass at the Vatican
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Pope Francis celebrated the Pentecost with a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, with a limited number of the faithful in attendance, as health protocols of the Covid-19 pandemic are still in place in Italy and the Vatican.
During the May 31 Mass, he urged the Holy Spirit to make Christians builders of unity. “Grant us the courage to go out of ourselves, to love and help each other, in order to become one family,” he prayed.
A handout picture provided by the Vatican Media shows Pope Francis leading the Pentecost Mass in the Blessed Sacrament chapel of the St. Peter’s Basilica, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the Vatican, 31 May 2020. EPA-EFE/VATICAN MEDIA
Pentecost, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Virgin Mary and the Apostles in Jerusalem, as narrated in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1-22), is regarded as the birth of the Church.
A handout picture provided by the Vatican Media shows Pope Francis leading the Pentecost Mass in the Blessed Sacrament chapel of the St. Peter’s Basilica, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at the Vatican, 31 May 2020. EPA-EFE/VATICAN MEDIA
Pope Francis delivered a homily pointing out that despite the diversity of backgrounds and ethnicities among Christ’s followers in the early Church, the Holy Spirit brings about unity by making them realize that they are primarily the children of God.
At noon, Pope Francis said on Sunday that people are more important than the economy, as countries decide how quickly to reopen their countries from coronavirus lockdowns.
Francis made his comments, departing from a prepared script, at the first noon address from his window overlooking St. Peter’s Square in three months as Italy’s lockdown drew to an end.
“Healing people, not saving (money) to help the economy (is important), healing people, who are more important than the economy,” Francis said.
“We people are temples of the Holy Spirit, the economy is not,” he said.
Francis did not mention any countries. Many governments are deciding whether to reopen their economies to save jobs and living standards, or whether to maintain lockdowns until they are sure the virus is fully under control.
The pope’s words were met with applause by hundreds of people in the square, many of whom wore masks and kept several meters from each other. The square was reopened to the public last Monday. Normally tens of thousands attend on a Sunday.
The last time the pope delivered his message and blessing from the window was March 1.
