VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis will read his Christmas message from inside the Vatican instead of the outer central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica due to new coronavirus restrictions in Italy, the Vatican said Tuesday.
In addition to the Christmas message “Urbi et Orbi” (in the city and in the world), there will also be five addresses that should have been delivered from a window of the Vatican Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Paul’s Square. Peter between December 26 and January 6. be moved inside
Restrictions mean people will not be able to go to St. Peter’s Square. Papal events will be broadcast live and televised.
Italians will be locked up all over the country for much of the Christmas and New Year holidays. Non-essential stores will be closed from December 24 to 27, from December 31 to January 31. January 3 and 5-6. These days people will be allowed to travel only for work, health or emergency reasons.
The rules will restrict the number of people allowed to attend major papal events inside St. Peter’s Basilica, such as Christmas Eve Mass, New Year’s Eve, World Peace Day Mass. ‘January 1 and the mass of January 6 at the feast. of the Epiphany.
The Pope’s Christmas Eve Mass will begin at 7:30 p.m., two hours earlier than usual, to allow the limited number of people who can attend to be home with an Italian curfew at 10 p.m .: 00.
When a second wave of pandemic affected Italy, its weekly general public moved back inland and was held with virtually no public participation after several months with a limited number of members of the public.
Italy, the first Western country to be affected by the virus, has recorded 69,214 deaths from COVID-19 since it appeared in February, the highest toll in Europe and the fifth highest in the world. It has also registered about 1.96 million updated cases.
Report by Philip Pullella; Edited by Alexander Smith, William Maclean