Pontiff prays for an end to the pandemic

Christmas 2021 was another somber one during surging COVID-19 illness, but Pope Francis is praying that won’t be the case next year.

In his Christmas Day address — “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the city and the world”) — the pope (left) prayed for an end to the pandemic and advocated for universal health care as Italy recorded a record increase in COVID infections.

“We have become so used to them that immense tragedies are now being passed over in silence,” the pope said from St. Peter’s Basilica (main photo), referring to ongoing conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, an “unprecedented crisis” in Lebanon, and tensions in Ethiopia and Ukraine. “We risk not hearing the cry of pain and distress of so many of our brothers and sisters.”

The pope prayed for victims of abuse as well, “consolation and warmth” for elders who are isolated, and health care professionals who “generously devote themselves” to their field.

And he prayed the sick will be made healthy and that anyone “of goodwill” can overcome the pandemic and its effects.

His prayer also included hope that “necessary medical care — and vaccines in particular — are provided to those people who need them most.”

Though far fewer people attended the address in St. Peter’s Square than usual — a few thousand versus the prepandemic tens of thousands — the in-person nature was an improvement on last year’s address, when it was televised amid Italy’s lockdown.

The Urbi et Orbi came on the heels of Italy recording 50,599 new COVID cases Friday because of the fast-spreading omicron variant, a single day record for the country. Also on Friday, Italy recorded 141 deaths.