Pope Francis celebrated Palm Sunday Mass, which marks the start of the Holy Week of Easter, and the Angelus Prayer in the presence of a small number of faithful invited to St. Peter's Basilica.
He recited his homilies in front of a hundred faithful and thirty religious.
The traditional procession of the faithful carrying olive branches was canceled in order to respect health standards and Francis blessed them from a distance from the altar.
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“
We have entered Holy Week.
For the second time we are living in the context of the pandemic.
Last year we were more shocked, this year we are more tested.
And the economic crisis has become severe
”, declared the pontiff.
Francis called to "
pray for all the victims of violence, in particular the victims of the attack perpetrated this morning in Indonesia in
front of the cathedral of Makassar".
This suicide attack left at least 14 injured.
A year ago, the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic swept over Italy.
The pope then celebrated alone, in a deserted basilica, Palm Sunday commemorating the entry of Christ into Jerusalem.
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The 84-year-old Argentine pope has significantly reduced his public appearances since the start of the pandemic, who usually takes walkabouts, willingly shakes hands with worshipers and kisses children.
He has had to cancel Wednesday's hearings several times and is also forced to celebrate the Angelus in his private library while containment measures prevent pilgrims from meeting in St. Peter's Square.
His trip to Iraq in early March was his first overseas trip since November 2019.