Because of the coronavirus, the Pope held a mass on palm Sunday in an empty Cathedral. Video
Palm Sunday opens the Holy week – the most important week for Christians, ending with Easter. This year Christians of the Western rite will celebrate April 12.
On 10 March the Holy see announced that due to quarantine in Italy the Cathedral and St. Peter’s square at the Vatican will be closed for tourists and travelers. Now Francis conducts sermons online.
Flash coronavirus infection COVID-19 began in December 2019 in China. March 11, the world health organization declared the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. According to data from the American Johns Hopkins University, the total number of infected people in the world exceeded 1.28 million, of which more than 270 thousand recovered, 70 590 died.
Italy ranks third in the world in the number of infected with the coronavirus, and first in the number of fatal cases. According to official data on the evening of 5 April, the country confirmed 128 948 patients with COVID-19, 15 887 of them had died.