Pope Francis

Sixty Italian priests have died amid country’s coronavirus pandemic

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Sixty Italian priests have died amid country’s coronavirus pandemic and Pope’s call for them to be brave enough to attend the sick Among Italy’s 5,476 dead are at least 60 priests who tested positive for the virus Pope Francis called on priests to ‘have courage to go out to the sick’ this month In Bergamo, in … Read more

Pope Francis fights coronavirus with ‘compassion’ in message streamed to millions

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Pope Francis was seen delivering his weekly Angelus prayer to an empty Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican City this morning, as Italians stay home to combat the spread of coronavirus. After presiding over Holy Mass from the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican Pope Francis shared a sombre message: ‘To the virus pandemic, we want to … Read more

Pope Francis walks through Rome’s deserted streets amid coronavirus lockdown

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Pope Francis defied Italian government advice to stay indoors and today walked to church through Rome’s deserted streets to pray for the end of coronavirus. The Catholic leader had earlier delivered a blessing from his balcony window above an eerily empty St Peter’s Square, which has been closed to worshippers as part of the country’s … Read more

Priests keep their distance from Pope Francis amid coronavirus lockdown

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Catholic priests kept their distance from Pope Francis over coronavirus fears today as Italy‘s 3ft safety rule reached the Vatican. Francis held an audience in his private library with his clerical translators sitting a yard apart – the distance which Italy is demanding in public spaces to stop the spread of the virus.  St Peter’s … Read more

Pope delivers Sunday prayers via livestream as Italy is put into lockdown amid coronavirus crisis

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Pope delivers Sunday prayers via livestream as Italy is put into lockdown after 36 people die in a single day – bringing the toll to 233 The 83-year-old pontiff broke with centuries of tradition to live stream prayers Wanted to prevent crowds going to Saint Peter’s Square for Angelus Prayer Coronavirus infections in Italy has … Read more

Pope Francis will deliver Sunday prayers by livestream to keep crowds away from Saint Peter’s Square

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Pope Francis will deliver Sunday prayers by livestream to keep crowds away from Saint Peter’s Square as Italy battles coronavirus The 83-year-old pontiff broke with centuries of tradition to live stream prayers Wants to prevent crowds going to Saint Peter’s Square for Angelus Prayer Coronavirus infections in Italy has jumped to 4,636, with 148 dead   … Read more

Vatican opens archives to discover why Pope Pius XII stayed silent on Nazis’ extermination of Jews

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Historians will today begin combing the archives of the world’s most contentious pope, hoping to discover why Pius XII stayed silent during the Holocaust. More than 200 researchers applied for permission to settle in one of the small studies of the Vatican Apostolic Archives to begin poring over millions of letters and documents the Vatican kept … Read more

MICHAEL GOVE: Britain can use its recovered sovereignty to be a force for good in the world 

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We are living, Pope Francis has said, not so much through an era of change as a change of era – one in which expectations and opportunities have been transformed. The financial crisis and other failures of leadership from a past generation of political and business leaders have turned people against distant and unaccountable power-brokers. … Read more

Pope Francis cancels official engagements for third day in a row in coronavirus-hit Italy 

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Pope Francis cancels official engagements for third day in a row with apparent cold symptoms in coronavirus-hit Italy The 83-year-old as never cancelled so many official audiences during his papacy Francis last appeared in public on Wednesday, when he was seen to be coughing It comes as coronavirus has now infected more than 800 people … Read more

Pope Francis is ‘slightly unwell’ and cancels public appointments

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Pope Francis is still feeling ‘slightly unwell’ and has cancelled his official audiences today, the Vatican has said.  The 83-year-old pontiff has scrapped an audience with tech chiefs including Microsoft and IBM executives today – a day after calling off an appearance at a Mass in Rome.  Francis had appeared to have a cold during … Read more

The Pope praises coronavirus health and expresses his ‘closeness’ to patients

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The Pope praises coronavirus health and expresses his ‘closeness’ to patients before shaking hand with tens of the congregation at his weekly audience Pope Francis praised those working to battle virus in Italy, which has 374 cases  The Pope expressed his ‘closeness’ to patients as he kissed people in the crowds Only a few of the 12,000 faithful … Read more