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Pope holds his first ever virtual general audience with Italy on lockdown
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS MARCH 11, 2020 / 7:37 AM / UPDATED 27 MINUTES AGO
Pope holds his first ever virtual general audience with Italy on lockdown
Philip Pullella
3 MIN READ
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, holed up in the Vatican by Italy’s coronavirus epidemic, held his first virtual general audience on Wednesday, thanking medical staff but urging the world not to forget the plight of Syrian refugees.
Most of Francis’ general audiences are held in St. Peter’s Square and attract tens of thousands of people.
But the square was empty on Wednesday as the Vatican, which is surrounded by Rome, adhered to a national lockdown aimed at stopping the virus by outlawing gatherings in public.
Francis and ten priests, some of whom translate his words into other languages - all sitting in a horseshoe pattern of chairs with space between them - gathered in the official papal library for an audience that was streamed on the internet and broadcast live on television.
-snip-
Pope holds his first ever virtual general audience with Italy on lockdown
Philip Pullella
3 MIN READ
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, holed up in the Vatican by Italy’s coronavirus epidemic, held his first virtual general audience on Wednesday, thanking medical staff but urging the world not to forget the plight of Syrian refugees.
Most of Francis’ general audiences are held in St. Peter’s Square and attract tens of thousands of people.
But the square was empty on Wednesday as the Vatican, which is surrounded by Rome, adhered to a national lockdown aimed at stopping the virus by outlawing gatherings in public.
Francis and ten priests, some of whom translate his words into other languages - all sitting in a horseshoe pattern of chairs with space between them - gathered in the official papal library for an audience that was streamed on the internet and broadcast live on television.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-cornavirus-pope/pope-holds-his-first-ever-virtual-general-audience-with-italy-on-lockdown-idUSKBN20Y1M2