POPE Francis is set to deliver his next two public blessings via video to prevent crowds from gathering.
The Vatican said in a statement yesterday that Francis will not hold today’s noon blessing from a window over St Peter’s Square, as is tradition, and it will instead be streamed from the library in the Apostolic Palace.
Wednesday’s audience will be handled in the same way.
Francis has also stopped celebrating morning Mass before invited guests at the chapel in the Vatican hotel where he lives.
The 83-year-old is currently recovering from a cold and with part of one lung removed due to a respiratory infection when he was younger, Francis would be at risk of serious complications if he were to catch the spreading coronavirus.
He appeared from a window high above St Peter’s Square for last Sunday’s blessing, pausing twice for short bouts of coughing.
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