What became clear over these past seven years is Francis’ unrelenting commitment to creating opportunities for open and mutual encounters between him and others.

The normal services of the health and hygiene sector of the Vatican city-state were “temporarily suspended” following yesterday’s positive test for Covid-19 on one patient in order “to sanitize the areas.”

In a small indication of how rapidly the contagion is affecting Italy, by the time the Vatican spokesman sent his communique to the media, the number of victims had risen dramatically—the total number of cases rising to 3,858 and deaths to 148.

Catholic Relief Services, which works in more than 110 countries, is "restricting all but the most mission-critical travel, with contingency operational plans in place should the disease take hold in any of the countries where the organization operates."

Italy has reported more than 1,800 cases of the China-born virus and 66 people have died while nearly 150 have recovered, while the rest allegedly remain in quarantine. Most of the cases were reported in northern Italy, near Milan and Venice.

Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna of Malta, adjunct secretary of the doctrinal congregation, will be accompanied by Spanish Father Jordi Bertomeu Farnos, a congregation official, on a visit to Mexico City March 20-27.