Pope Francis held Palm Sunday mass in a largely empty St. Peter’s Basilica, breaking with tradition because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Normally, the pope would celebrate the mass outside with tens of thousands of tourists and pilgrims. The threat of the coronavirus, however, has caused the Vatican to ban crowds at all of the pope’s Easter events, according to the Associated Press.
“Today, in the tragedy of a pandemic, in the face of the many false securities that have now crumbled, in the face of so many hopes betrayed, in the sense of abandonment that weighs upon our hearts, Jesus says to each one of us: ‘Courage, open your heart to my love,'” the pope said Sunday.
“The tragedy we are experiencing summons us to take seriously the things that are serious, and not to be caught up in those that matter less, to rediscover that life is of no use if not used to serve others,” he continued.
The ban is unprecedented, and Sunday’s mass was the first Easter event held without thousands of worshipers in attendance, according to the Vatican. The mass was livestreamed for those to follow along with from their homes.
Italy, where the Vatican is located, is one of the hardest-hit countries by the pandemic. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte initiated a national lockdown last month to slow the spread of the disease as hospitals and doctors struggle to manage the influx of COVID-19 virus patients. In the worst-hit areas, medical staff are forced to ration treatment and, in some instances, decide who they can treat who must be left to battle the disease alone.
