A priest living in the same residence as Pope Francis tested positive for the coronavirus and has been hospitalized, according to the Jesuit magazine America.
The priest, Gianluca Pezzoli, is a permanent resident in the Santa Marta guesthouse, where Francis has lived since ascending to the papacy in 2013. Francis has not interacted with Pezzoli recently, America said. Italian newspapers reported on Thursday that Francis had once again tested negative for the coronavirus. The Vatican has not commented on the matter.
Since contracting a cold around Ash Wednesday, Francis has lived in isolation, taking meals in his room and conducting his public appearances in online live streams. Francis tested negative for the coronavirus in early March, with Vatican spokesmen saying that his cold was “running its course, without symptoms linked to other pathologies.”
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As the coronavirus spreads worldwide, Francis has encouraged priests to minister to those in affected areas.
“Let’s pray for this, that the Holy Spirit may give to pastors the ability for pastoral discernment so that they might provide measures which do not leave the holy, faithful people of God alone, and so that the people of God will feel accompanied by their pastors, comforted by the Word of God, by the sacraments, and by prayer,” Francis said in a homily in which he reversed a decision to close the churches in Rome.
Four people in Vatican City have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a Vatican spokesman. Italy has been hit the hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 70,000 recorded cases and more than 7,000 deaths.
