VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis led a special prayer on Saturday to call for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, surrounded by a representative sample of people on the battlefront against the coronavirus.
Francis held the gathering on Saturday afternoon, which was by far the largest gathering in the Vatican after the confinement measures. The prayer was held in the Vatican Gardens and was attended by a doctor, a nurse, a hospital chaplain, a pharmacist, a journalist and a civil protection official, among more than 100 guests.
Also in prayer were, in an artificial grotto dedicated to the Virgin Mary, a sick man recovered from COVID-19, a person with a relative who died during the epidemic in Italy, and the parents of a baby born during the health emergency.
In March, the Vatican followed Italy’s example of suspending most of its activities, including all public worship. Many of those attending the meeting on Saturday wore masks, but Francisco did not.
Marian prayer is celebrated every end of May, the month in which the Catholic Church pays homage to Mary. This year, the Vatican said that the Pope’s prayer of the rosary was performed simultaneously in more than 40 Marian shrines around the world.
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