New Rochelle has the highest concentration of COVID-19 cases in the country. Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed schools in the zone to close and forbade large gatherings of people.

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.

The Mass has power whether we are able to be there in person or not, writes Sam Sawyer, S.J., reflecting on a Sunday when circumstances mean that many are participating in liturgy via modern technology.

In a video address, Pope Francis thanked caregivers and assured his audience that ‘spiritual communion‘ remains strong even during the isolation of the coronavirus epidemic. Gerard O’Connell reports from the Vatican.

While public gatherings, including Masses, have been banned in Italy through April 3, Holy Week begins with the Palm Sunday liturgy April 5, so the notification from the Prefecture of the Papal Household was read as a sign that the ban would be extended, at least at the Vatican.

Jésus-Christ, guéris-nous.