The Pope has delivered a blessing which is normally reserved for Christmas and Easter in an extremely rare move in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Francis delivered the ‘Urbi et Orbi’ blessing – Latin for ‘to the city and the world’ – in an empty St Peter’s Square this evening.
The blessing is usually given to mark the major Christian festivals of the year, or when a new Pope is elected. It was not clear whether a special blessing such as this one has ever happened before.
Catholics who watch the Pope’s appearance online will be offered forgiveness for their sins if they receive the blessing.
The Pope’s delivering the Urbi et Orbi blessing outside of the major Christian festivals underlines the gravity of the situation in Italy which has the largest death rate in the world and whose elderly population has been hardest hit
An aerial view of the Pope outside the Vatican, Rome giving the unusual ‘Urbi et Orbi’ blessing. He can seen here on an illuminated sheltered podium outside the entrance to the Vatican but St Peter’s Square remained deserted due to lockdown
The Pope delivered the address to a completely deserted St Peter’s Square as Italy is under lockdown due to the coronavirus
Francis announced the surprise blessing in his weekly Angelus message last Sunday, which he has been delivering in a live-streamed format from inside the Vatican.
The pontiff’s decision to give a special Urbi et Orbi blessing underlines the gravity of the pandemic, especially in Italy which has the world’s highest death toll.
St Peter’s Square has been empty for weeks because of Italy’s national lockdown.
The Vatican Museums are also closed, including the Sistine Chapel, in another blow to Italy’s valuable tourism industry.
Pope Francis walks to give the unusual ‘Urbi et Orbi’ blessing to an empty St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, March 27, 2020
Pope Francis walked alone up the stairs to St Peter’s Basilica to deliver an extraordinary ‘Urbi et Orbi’ blessing – normally given only at Christmas and Easter – as a response to the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic
Pope Francis walked alone up the stairs to St Peter’s Basilica to deliver the extraordinary ‘Urbi et Orbi’ blessing
The Vatican, which is surrounded by Rome, has imposed restrictions on movement and contact among its personnel in a bid to contain the virus.
Pope Francis has been celebrating Mass by himself to keep his distance, although he has urged other clergymen to ‘have the courage’ to visit the sick.
Francis himself is thought to have tested negative for coronavirus more than once, although the Vatican has never confirmed or denied this.
Alarms were raised after Francis coughed and blew his nose in church before hugging and kissing worshippers in St Peter’s Square.
Francis has enjoyed generally good health, although he had part of one lung removed as a younger man.
Some priests have made themselves vulnerable to the virus by comforting the sick and presiding over funerals in recent weeks.
Pope Francis giving the unusual Urbi et Orbi blessing to an empty St. Peter’s Square in front of the Vatican, Rome
Pope Francis kisses a miraculous crucifix that in 1552 was carried in a procession around Rome to stop the great plague, It was brought from the San Marcello al Corso church in Rome, during a moment of prayer on the sagrato of St Peters Basilica
Pope France went to an alter after the ‘Urbi et Orbi’ blessing to complete the ritual and promised the forgiveness of sins to all Catholics who accepted the blessing watching from TV anywhere in the world on the 27th March 2020
‘A priest is always close to the people. For good or bad, it’s his raison d’etre,’ said Monsignor Giulio Dellavite, secretary-general of the diocese of Bergamo.
Of the 67 Italian priests who have died of the virus, more than 20 have come from Bergamo, including a bishop, according to the Catholic newspaper Avvenire.
But Giuseppe Locatelli, the priest of the parish in Albino, also in the province of Bergamo, says he has no plans to renounce his ministry.
‘Priests are on the second line. Doctors and nurses are on the front line with the risks they take every day. We take fewer risks,’ Locatelli said.
The Pope emphasised the solemnity of the occasion and used his address to pray for the end of the outbreak
St Peter’s Basilica seen from an empty St Peter’s Square as Italy continues to impose quarantine on the country