The decision to close N.A.C. was taken after the Italian prime minister over the weekend imposed new restrictions on the production of goods and the movement of employees.

“In these days of trial, as humanity trembles at the threat of the [coronavirus] pandemic, I would propose that all Christians join their voices together to heaven,” Pope Francis said.

The decree states that the faithful can gain this plenary indulgence in a variety of ways while the pandemic lasts, such as by praying before the Blessed Sacrament, making Eucharistic Adoration or reading the Sacred Scriptures for a half an hour or more.

Pope Francis said, “The prayer of the rosary is the prayer of the humble and of the saints who, through its mysteries, contemplate with Mary the life of Jesus, the merciful face of the Father.”

Francis counseled: “Don’t waste these difficult days,” instead “rediscover” the importance of “small, concrete gestures expressing closeness and concreteness toward the people closest to us, a caress for our grandparents, a kiss for our children, for the people we love.”

Pope Francis traveled the nearly deserted streets of Rome this afternoon to pray at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major and the church of St. Marcello, home to a venerated crucifix from the 16th-century plague.