Advertisement

Pope Francis’ Angelus Address Moves Outdoors as Coronavirus Restrictions Ease in Rome

Pope Francis after praying the Angelus in the Vatican's apostolic palace on March 29, 2020. Credit: Vatican Media.

By Hannah Brockhaus

Vatican City, 03 February, 2021 / 11:15 am (ACI Africa).

Pope Francis will speak to a live audience once again as his weekly Angelus address moves back to St. Peter’s Square on Sunday after a seven-week absence.

The pope leads the traditional Marian prayer from the Vatican every Sunday at noon local time -- usually from a window overlooking the square, which is filled with people who come to hear him.

But since Rome was again put under stricter coronavirus regulations at the end of December and through January, the pope’s address moved indoors to a live-stream format.

While Rome was designated a “red zone” and then an “orange zone,” Francis led the Angelus via live video from his library in the Apostolic Palace.

On Monday, Rome’s region of Lazio became a “yellow zone,” easing some of the restrictions intended to control the spread of COVID-19.

Advertisement

Under the eased measures, museums, including the Vatican Museums, reopened to visitors.

The Vatican Museums, after reopening in June 2020 when Italy’s strict national lockdown ended, were forced to close for another 86 days when restrictions again tightened in early November.

Pope Francis’ Angelus on Feb. 7 will be his second live appearance in recent days. On Tuesday, Feb. 2, he offered Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for the World Day for Consecrated Life, which has been celebrated each year on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord for the past 25 years.

Late last month, the pope had been forced to cancel three public appearances due to a recurrence of nerve pain that struck him at the end of 2020.

In a private audience with an American news agency on Feb. 1, Francis said that he can usually feel when a flare-up of sciatica is coming on and his doctor will advise him to cancel or postpone events which will require standing for a long period.

More in Vatican

Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati

Pope Francis Announces 2025 Canonizations for Carlo Acutis, Pier Giorgio Frassati During Jubilee Celebrations

Read the article

But, he told Catholic News Service, his doctor had told him to still “do the Angelus or people will say you are dead.”

Hannah Brockhaus

Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.

Trending

You may also like

Pope Francis arrives at Luxembourg Airport on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, the first stop in a four-day tour of Luxembourg and Belgium, two historically Christian countries in Europe, both of which are experiencing steep declines in religious adherence amid the spread of secularization. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

In a Secularized Luxembourg, Pope Francis Tells Catholics to Evangelize Europe

Before flying to the neighboring country of Belgium on the afternoon of Sept. 26, the 87-year-old pope spent one day...

Young people lead a procession in Protomartyrs Square at the Vatican for an ecumenical prayer service on Oct. 11, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis, Synod Pray Where First Christian Martyrs of Rome Were Killed

The ecumenical prayer vigil Oct. 11 was held in Roman Protomartyrs Square inside Vatican City.

Pope Francis' brief remarks during the Angelus July 21, 2024, focused on the day’s Gospel passage from Mark, which demonstrates how rest and compassion for others go together. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis: In the Silence of Adoration We Receive God’s Grace

At his weekly Angelus, the pope told Catholics to beware of “the dictatorship of doing.”