Pope Francis left Vatican City on Sunday to pray in a Rome cathedral for coronavirus victims as Italy’s death toll hit a one-day high of 368. The 83-year-old pontiff’s unannounced visit to a church with a crucifix from the times of the Great Plague came with Italy’s hospitals running out beds and the entire nation of 60 million under effective lockdown. Only occasional joggers and a few locals carrying grocery bags could be seen on the streets of Rome in what has fast become Italy’s biggest crisis in several generations.
Pope Francis left Vatican City on Sunday to pray in a Rome cathedral for coronavirus victims as Italy’s death toll hit a one-day high of 368. The 83-year-old pontiff’s unannounced visit to a church with a crucifix from the times of the Great Plague came with Italy’s hospitals running out beds and the entire nation of 60 million under effective lockdown. Only occasional joggers and a few locals carrying grocery bags could be seen on the streets of Rome in what has fast become Italy’s biggest crisis in several generations.