Pope Francis celebrates the Easter Vigil in a dark and nearly empty St. Peter’s Basilica.
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Pope Francis celebrates the Easter Vigil in a dark and nearly empty St. Peter’s Basilica.
Saints can get a bad rap because sometimes people assume they lived in deep piety removed from the burdens of everyday life. But a quick look at the saints known for their ministry to the poor and outcast, the sick and dying, particularly during times of plagues, casts these men and women in a different light.
This past week, we have witnessed events that no one could possibly have imagined at the start of the week. There are, at the time of this writing, over 230,000 people in the world who have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond has announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the first Catholic bishop in the U.S. to publicly announce being infected with the coronavirus that has caused a global pandemic.
As the number climbs of inmates who’ve died in Italian prisons amid riots related to the country’s coronavirus restrictions, and as the Vatican tightens its own controls, Pope Francis March 11 offered a prayer for prisoners suffering as the disease spreads.
Amid continuing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, Catholic pilgrims in the Holy Land said they were being cautious but had no regrets about continuing with their pilgrimage.