In a video address, Pope Francis thanked caregivers and assured his audience that ‘spiritual communion‘ remains strong even during the isolation of the coronavirus epidemic. Gerard O’Connell reports from the Vatican.

While public gatherings, including Masses, have been banned in Italy through April 3, Holy Week begins with the Palm Sunday liturgy April 5, so the notification from the Prefecture of the Papal Household was read as a sign that the ban would be extended, at least at the Vatican.

The coronavirus has become Italy's most major crisis since World War II.

Jésus-Christ, guéris-nous.

Pope Francis will continue his all-out efforts to eliminate the triple form of abuse by clergy in the church—the abuse of conscience, of power, of sex—and to ensure that a safe environment is established in all church institutions worldwide for children and young people.

The Archdiocese of Seattle has been joined by numerous other dioceses, including those of Little Rock, Salt Lake City, and Santa Fe, in canceling public Masses. Major archdioceses, such as in Chicago and Newark, have undertaken similar precautious.