All churches in Rome shut down amid coronavirus fears
Without historical precedent, all the Catholic churches in Rome have been closed to the faithful because of the coronavirus outbreak. The decision came from Cardinal Angelo de Donatis, who updated the March 8 decree that originally suspended Masses to include the closing the churches. Use of the churches will be permitted only to religious orders attached to them, i.e. monks and nuns living in community.
In a radical move which has never happened before, Cardinal Angelo de Donatis, the Pope’s vicar for the diocese of Rome, announced today that all the Catholic churches in Rome will be closed until April 3, 2020. Earlier this week, the Italian Bishops’ Conference suspended all public celebrations of Mass, but they allowed the churches to be open at certain times for personal prayer and Eucharistic adoration. However, that comfort has been lost to the faithful in Rome.
The decree now states that “until April 3, 2020, access to parish churches and other churches in the diocese of Rome open to the public, and more generally any religious building of any kind open to the public, is off-limits to all the faithful.”
Use of the churches will be permitted only to religious orders attached to them, i.e. monks and nuns living in community.
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