Pope Francis in a rare outing from Vatican grounds on Sunday, celebrated a mass on “divine mercy” with prisoners, refugees, and health workers.
The service which was held in a Church just off St Peter’s Square, had about 80 people in attendance due to coronavirus restrictions.
Among them, there were inmates of two Roman prisons and one youth detention centre; refugees from Syria, Nigeria, and Egypt; and nursing staff from a nearby hospital.
In his homily, the leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics stressed the importance for Christians of serving others.
The pope, who is 84 and was vaccinated for the coronavirus ahead of his trip to Iraq earlier in March, did not wear a face mask during the service.
Those who did readings from the bible were also unmasked, while everybody else in the church, including altar boys and other priests, had their masks on.
