Pope Francis prays over the internet and talks about coronavirus

The Francis Pope expressed this Sunday (8), in prayer for the first time via the Internet "streaming" of the Apostolic Palace library, "proximity" with patients of coronavirus. After that, he approached the window to share the blessing.

“This Angelus prayer, with a caged pope in the library, is strange. But I see them and I am close to you ”, he said, before going to the window, in front of a few faithful scattered in the square of São Pedro.

The Vatican had already announced yesterday that the pope would do his Sunday prayer by streaming, straight from the Vatican News page , to meet the measures required by the Italian government to contain the virus. This is the first time that the Argentine pope has resorted to this system, already used in the past by John Paul II when he was very ill, or shortly after the attack on which he was targeted in 1981

With the measure, the objective of the Holy See was to avoid agglomerations in St. Peter's Square, as usual. The huge terrace was almost empty, with people keeping more than a meter apart. There were no lines, as usual, to pass security controls.

"These decisions are necessary to avoid the risks of diffusion of Covid-19, due to the agglomerations of security controls to access the square, as requested by the Italian authorities," explained the Vatican in a statement. Until March 15, the faithful will not be allowed to attend masses at the Santa Marta residence. In addition, the Supreme Pontiff will celebrate the Eucharist in private.

St. Peter's Basilica will remain open, with a gradual flow of access. The Pope's weekly audience, on Wednesdays, “will be held under the same conditions”, that is, by “streaming”.

The 83-year-old pope has not left the Vatican for more than a week.

The smallest state in the world, with 0.44 km2 and 450 inhabitants, the Vatican announced on Friday its first case of coronavirus. The case was detected in a modest medical center, located near one of the access doors to its territory.