After Easter, celebrated during confinement in an almost deserted St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis will again officiate without worshipers for Advent and Christmas masses, the Catholic News Agency (CNA) said on Monday (October 26th). .
Read also: The Pope did not speak out for same-sex marriage
In a letter to the foreign representations to the Holy See, the Secretary of State - Ministry of Foreign Affairs - of the Vatican indicates that the Christmas ceremonies will take place "in a private form".
They will be held "without the presence of members of the diplomatic corps" usually invited, and will be broadcast online.
A month of December disrupted by the Covid-19
The month of December is traditionally marked by a series of liturgical festivals that attract thousands of pilgrims to the Italian capital.
On the 8th, the Pope pays a visit to the foot of a statue of Mary in the Spanish Steps for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a public holiday in Italy.
Instead of the usual Mass, this year the Sovereign Pontiff will say the Angelus from Saint Peter's Square.
On the other hand, for the moment, the Christmas homily on the evening of the 24th is maintained, followed by the Pope's “Urbi et Orbi” speech to the city of Rome and to the world.
Since the emergence of the novel coronavirus pandemic in Italy last spring, Argentinian Pope Jorge Bergoglio, 83, has had to give up the crowd baths he loves, his trips abroad and the countless ceremonies and receptions which punctuate papal life in the Vatican city-state.
And the resurgence of the epidemic in recent weeks after a short summer respite, led the government to announce on Sunday drastic restrictions on the movement of people throughout the country.
Cinemas, theaters and gyms closed, restaurants and bars prohibited from serving after 6 p.m., curfews in several regions.
The pandemic has killed more than 37,000 people in Italy.
