It’s not a typical sight at St. Peter’s...
It may have been the only time that a Pope walked alone in a completely empty St. Peter’s Square in the rain.
The context behind this scene was equally as historic: a global pandemic. That’s why Pope Francis announced that he would deliver an extraordinary gesture, the Urbi et Orbi blessing, typically reserved for special occasions such as Christmas and Easter.
Two religious images accompanied him during the ceremony.
One was the crucifix from the San Marcello al Corso church in Rome, which was carried throughout the Eternal City in 1522 in a procession to pray for the end of the bubonic plague.
...The other image was the ancient icon of the patron saint of Rome, the Salus Populi Romani, “Salvation of the Roman People.”
Before the blessing, the Pope reflected on the fragility of our society, revealed by the pandemic.
POPE FRANCIS
The storm has uncovered our vulnerability and lays bare those false and superfluous securities with which we build our agendas, our projects, our habits and priorities.
He then gave the blessing with the Eucharist from the atrium of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Pope Francis was closely watching how the pandemic developed.
The special blessing came when Italy was one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic, tallying nearly a thousand deaths from the virus every day. It had just surpassed the number of casualties declared by China.
Delivered under the rain in an empty St. Peter’s Square, the Pope’s gesture was a moment of closeness and consolation for the many suffering from the effects of the pandemic around the world.
Javier Romero
