Pope calls for solidarity as virus pandemic poses an ‘epochal challenge’
POPE Francis called for solidarity the world over to confront the “epochal challenge” posed by the coronavirus pandemic, as Christians celebrated a solitary Easter Sunday, blending the joyful feast day with sorrow over the toll the virus has already taken.
Families who normally would attend morning Mass in their Easter best and later join friends for celebratory lunches hunkered down at home. Police checkpoints in Europe and closed churches around the globe forced the faithful to watch Easter services online or on TV.
A few lucky Romans attended Mass from their balconies overlooking Santa Emerenziana church in the northern Trieste neighbourhood, where a priest led a rooftop open-air service.
“We feel close to each other despite this distance,” parishioner Luca Rosati said from his balcony. “We can experience from here what we normally would experience inside the church, as a community.”
At Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where many Christians believe Jesus was crucified and entombed, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa urged the faithful to not be discouraged.
“The message of Easter is that life, despite all, will prevail,” said Archbishop Pizzaballa during a Mass attended by a few clerics, with the streets of the surrounding Old City devoid of pilgrims and vendors.
At the Vatican, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in a largely empty St Peter’s Basilica, with a handful of token faithful sitting one per pew and and the choir’s Kyrie hymn echoing off the bare marble floors.
Normally, St Peter’s Square would be awash in fresh flowers for Easter, with tulips and orchids decorating the piazza’s promenade to underscore Easter’s message of life and rebirth following Christ’s crucifixion.
This year, however, the cobble-stoned piazza was bare. Police barricades ringed the square, blocking the tens of thousands who would normally flock to hear the pope’s Mass and Urbi et Orbi speech and blessing “to the city and the world”.
The pope instead stayed indoors, underscoring the solitude confronting all of humanity amid lockdown orders to prevent further contagion.
In his Easter address, the pope urged political leaders to provide hope and opportunity to the millions of newly jobless and urged the European Union in particular to step up to the “epochal challenge” posed by Covid-19, which has ravaged Italy, Spain and other EU countries.
“After the Second World War, this beloved continent was able to rise again, thanks to a concrete spirit of solidarity that enabled it to overcome the rivalries of the past,” he said.
“This is not a time for self-centeredness, because the challenge we are facing is shared by all, without distinguishing between persons.”
He urged the faithful to pray for the sick, the dead, the elderly and the alone. He also called for sanctions relief, debt forgiveness and ceasefires to calm conflicts and financial crises around the globe.
The lonely Mass was a scene that was repeated around the world, with churches either closed or, for the few still open, forcing the faithful to practise social distancing. In South Korea, where one outbreak was tied to a church sect, services were largely held online.
A small number of masked faithful attended a service at Seoul’s Yoido Full Gospel Church, one of the biggest churches in South Korea. They were seated notably apart from each other, and choir members sang hymns from behind masks.
The Church of England closed its churches, prompting the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, to lead the Easter Sunday service from his kitchen in London.