In a March 28 note, Bruni confirmed that a monsignor, who works in the Vatican Secretariat of State and lives in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where Pope Francis lives, did test positive for the coronavirus and, “as a precaution”, was hospitalised.

The Italian newspaper Il Messaggero and the Jesuit-run America magazine published reports on March 25 about the monsignor testing positive.

Bruni said that, as of March 28, the Vatican health service had conducted more than 170 tests for the virus. No one else who lives at the Domus Sanctae Marthae tested positive, Bruni said.

As soon as the monsignor tested positive, he said, his room and office were sanitised and all the people he had come into contact with over the preceding days were contacted.

“The health authorities carried out tests on the people in closest contact with the positive individual,” Bruni said. “The results confirmed the absence of other positive cases” among the residents of the Vatican guesthouse, but another employee of the Holy See who was in “close contact with the official” did test positive.

That brings to six the number of people in the Vatican who have tested positive, he said.

The Vatican press office had confirmed the first four cases on March 24. The first, already confirmed by the Vatican on March 6, was a priest from Bergamo who had a routine pre-employment exam at the Vatican health clinic. After he was discovered with symptoms, the clinic was closed temporarily for special cleaning, and the five people with whom the priest had come into contact were put under a preventive quarantine.

There were reports at the same time that the offices of the Secretariat of State were closed temporarily for a thorough cleaning.

The Vatican did not say when the next three people tested positive, but it said one worked in the Vatican warehouse and two worked at the Vatican Museums.

All four, the Vatican said March 24, “were placed in precautionary isolation” before their test results came back. “The isolation has already lasted more than 14 days; currently they are receiving care in Italian hospitals or in their own homes.”

Both America magazine and Il Messaggero said Pope Francis was unlikely to have had contact with the monsignor from the Secretariat of State who tested positive. Both reported that Pope Francis has been eating his meals in his room rather than the dining room since coming down with a bad cold after Ash Wednesday, February 26.

While the Vatican has cancelled all group meetings, Pope Francis continues to meet with individuals each day.

News reports said the Pope and his guests use hand sanitiser before and after the meetings.

Photo: Pope Francis raises the monstrance during eucharistic adoration at the end of Mass March 26, 2020, in the chapel of his Vatican residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae. (CNS Photo/Vatican media)

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Pope Francis is inviting everyone, Catholics and the rest of the world, to unite in praying for the end of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Urbi et Orbi ( to the city of Rome and to the world) is a formal blessing usually given only at Christmas and Easter or immediately after a new pope is elected.

Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Novatus Rugambwa told NZ Catholic that the Holy See has asked all the bishops to inform everyone of the Pope’s invitation.

“This is an act of worship and prayer, imploring God’s mercy and intervention in what we are experiencing worldwide. It is in this context of fighting against the spread of this virus which is devastating and afflicting almost all the people in other countries now. We are asking them to come together as people of God,” he said.

The nuncio explained this is a special blessing, because it is not only for Catholics whom the Pope leads in service, but for every person of faith.

“It is not Mass. It is just an appointment of prayers. That is the first part will be the proclamation of the Word of God, some meditation on that, this will be followed by adoration of [the] Blessed Sacrament. After that, the Holy Father will confer and declare the indulgence that will go with this action. After that he will give the blessing,” Archbishop Rugambwa explained.

The plenary indulgence is for those who follow on television, radio or Internet. However, those who are receiving the indulgence should be sorry for their sins and go to confession and receive communion as soon as they are able.

The nuncio observed there are countries where the medical system is probably not as good as it is here in New Zealand.  He said coming together in prayer “could be a way to help and show our solidarity, not only physically but also spiritually”.  

“We hope this will help. That is the special element of this appeal of the Holy Father for prayer,” he said.

“Pray together. This trial that we are facing, we can’t do anything. We are not in control of the situation in this world. No matter how intelligent we might look and seem strong. But there is no doubt we need something supernatural, some supernatural element in our life in our way of tackling our problems.”

The papal blessing will be livestreamed in New Zealand on March 28 at 6 am. Those who wish to join can go to www.vaticannews.va and mondovisione.com

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“In these days, even when the liturgy is not able to be celebrated together, side-by-side, the life of Jesus Christ communicated to us through the church remains open to us,” they said in a joint pastoral letter released today (March 20).

In an earlier statement, the bishops suspended temporarily all Masses and public liturgies.

They said churches will remain open for personal prayer.

“Now that it is no longer possible for us to gather for Mass and the sacraments it is important to remember that the church and the ministries of the priest remain open twenty-four hours a day seven days a week,” the letter said.

“It is our hope that church buildings remain open for personal prayer, even when the liturgy which gathers people together is not able to be celebrated. If you know of people who need the ministry of a priest for any reason do not hesitate to make contact with a priest or diocesan office.”

The bishops said when threats like the Covid-19 emerges, we are all reminded of our dependence on the power and love of God.

“When we are faced with a fear that threatens to overwhelm us, we become aware of the fact that we remain vulnerable creatures, dependent on a God who is greater than us for everything, including every breath that we take,” they said.

“Without God this vulnerability is a problem to be suffered and solved. In personal and shared faith in Jesus Christ we understand that the reality of human vulnerability is a gift that opens us to receive and to give love.”

Full text of the pastoral letter:

Pastoral letter to parishioners from the Catholic Bishops of Aotearoa New Zealand regarding the Covid-19 coronavirus-related suspension of Mass

The psalm we pray together at this weekend’s Masses for the Fourth Sunday in Lent is perhaps the best known and most loved of all the psalms. For almost three thousand years those who know God have prayed this prayer in times of comfortable peace and from the heart of the battlefields of life when anxiety, persecution and sickness threaten to overwhelm us.

We often pray this prayer especially as a hymn, when we gather to bury those we love. And today, in union with our brothers and sisters of every nation on earth, together facing the threat of the new coronavirus, we call to God with deepened awareness of our need and with confident hope:

Even though we walk in the dark valley, we fear no evil for you O God are with us giving us courage.

In recent weeks we your bishops have communicated to you the people of our Catholic community in Aotearoa New Zealand the professional advice from the Ministry of Health on how to keep ourselves and all people, especially the most vulnerable, safe, and protected from this virus. We are grateful to all who have immediately implemented the necessary restrictions, especially those who find the required changes most difficult.

Now that it is no longer possible for us to gather for Mass and the sacraments it is important to remember that the church and the ministries of the priest remain open twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. It is our hope that church buildings remain open for personal prayer, even when the liturgy which gathers people together is not able to be celebrated. If you know of people who need the ministry of a priest for any reason do not hesitate to make contact with a priest or diocesan office. In these days, even when the liturgy is not able to be celebrated together, side-by-side, the life of Jesus Christ communicated to us through the church remains open to us.

Diocesan websites are being constantly updated as new information, restrictions and resources become available. Please make sure that all parishioners have access to this important information.

While the visible present fear is a biological virus, the fact is that we humans face fear every day. While in these days we are wisely focused on keeping people safe from the present threat of infection, in our families and friendships and local communities we continue to accompany those who are facing fears that are not related to the coronavirus; those who are struggling with a relationship break-down, and financial anxiety,  and those who are terminally ill, and those who care for them.

We live in an age when it seems possible to believe that modern opportunities, education, medical care and technology can deliver us the happiness we seek. When we are faced with a fear that threatens to overwhelm us, we become aware of the fact that we remain vulnerable creatures, dependent on a God who is greater than us for everything, including every breath that we take. Without God this vulnerability is a problem to be suffered and solved. In personal and shared faith in Jesus Christ we understand that the reality of human vulnerability is a gift that opens us to receive and to give love.

May these difficult days be for all the people of our land an opportunity to realise anew that when we dwell in the “House of the Lord” here on earth, goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our life.

Perhaps our mantra for these difficult days can be our psalm for today prayed as a simple repeated line when you are not sure what to pray:

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Then as a communal prayer:

The Lord is our shepherd; there is nothing we shall want.

Yours in Christ,

✠ Patrick Dunn, Bishop of Auckland and NZCBC President

✠ Steve Lowe, Bishop of Hamilton and NZCBC Secretary

✠ John Dew, Cardinal Archbishop of Wellington

✠ Paul Martin, Bishop of Christchurch

✠ Michael Dooley, Bishop of Dunedin

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“The parishioner appeared well and showed no symptoms of any illness,” Bishop Dunn said.

“The person became ill during the week.”

 Bishop Dunn said the parish was contacting parishioners, especially those who attended the same Mass as the person.

Older parishioners and those whose health might not be the best were being particularly contacted.

 “I am advised by health experts that the risk to others at that Mass of contracting Covid-19 is low,” Bishop Dunn said.

“This is because the risk of Covid-19 being passed on by someone not showing symptoms is regarded as low.

“The wellbeing of our parishioners is our first priority, which is why we started to contact them as soon as we became aware today that a parishioner had been diagnosed with Covid-19,” Bishop Dunn said.

Bishop Dunn said the 5pm Vigil Mass at St Mary’s today and the 8.30am and 10.30am Masses tomorrow would go ahead as normal, because the risk of transmission was regarded as low for persons without symptoms.

Parishioners would be given advice before they entered, and the choice whether to attend.

“Nobody should fear going to Mass,” said Bishop Dunn.

“Our best advice is that the chance of catching any illness in Mass is very low, especially if you heed the standard health advice to wash your hands, avoid close contact with anyone who is ill, and stay at home if you feel ill yourself.”

Bishop Dunn, who is president of the NZ Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said the Church had been in close regular contact with the Ministry of Health since the Covid19 pandemic began in China and had issued regular updates to parishes on precautions that needed to be taken at Mass.

Following advice of the Ministry, the Catholic Church throughout New Zealand this week stopped the use of shared holy water from fonts, communion on the tongue, or from the chalice, and shaking hands or other physical contact at the Sign of Peace during Mass.

These practices have always been optional for individuals.

This was in addition to the standard advice for parishes emphasising the importance of good hygiene practices, including regular washing of hands, covering coughs and sneezes with elbows not hands, and staying at home if feeling sick.

Photo: MurdochNewman: Wikimedia Commons

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The bishops, under the advice of National Liturgy Acting Director Fr John O’ Connor, released an urgent COVID-19 coronavirus update on March 15.

“The National Liturgy Office and NZ Catholic Bishops have received important new advice today from the Ministry of Health,” Fr O’Connor said in behalf of the bishops.

“This advice specifically says we should desist with ‘the sharing of communion cups and shared holy water, and hand shaking’.”

Based on the Health Ministry’s advice, Catholics are being asked to:

• At the Sign of Peace, people should avoid shaking hands or other contact with one another, and instead smile, nod or bow to one another.

• Holy Communion is not to be distributed from the chalice.

• Communion is only to be distributed in the hand, not on the tongue.

• Holy water is to be removed from stoups and containers at the church door.

• Priests should not touch children’s heads when blessing them and then continue to distribute Communion.

He clarified that there is still no restriction on public gatherings, including Mass.

“We are concerned there is a significant degree of fear among some parishioners, and it is essential that the Church is a safe place for people when they gather for Mass.  We therefore ask each diocese, parish and Catholic community to respond with appropriate sensitivity to the fears that exists,” Fr O’ Connor said.

The bishops emphasised with all parishioners the importance of good practices of hygiene, including regular washing of hands, covering coughs and sneezes with elbows not hands, staying at home if sick, and trying to keep a metre away from people who are unwell.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis entrusted to Jesus’ mother the suffering and anguish of millions of people affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

In a video message broadcast March 11, the pope prayed before a portrait of Our Lady of Divine Love, beseeching her to “not disdain the entreaties of we who are in trial” but to “deliver us from every danger.”

“We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick, who at the cross took part in Jesus’ pain, keeping your faith firm,” the pope prayed. “You, Salvation of the Roman People, know what we need, and we are sure you will provide so that, as in Cana of Galilee, we may return to joy and to feasting after this time of trial.”

The pope’s video message was aired on TV2000, the television channel of the Italian bishops’ conference, and the Diocese of Rome’s Facebook page. Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, papal vicar of Rome, celebrated a Mass at Rome’s Shrine of Divine Love that was aired live after the pope’s message.

The Mass, according to the Diocese of Rome, capped a day of prayer and fasting for the city and for Italy, which has been under a government-mandated lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

As of March 11, more than 12,000 people in Italy have contracted the virus, known as COVID-19, and at least 827 of them have died since the outbreak began in northern Italy, the Italian health ministry said. However, an estimated 1,045 people have been cured since the outbreak began.

The image of Our Lady of Divine Love is of particular significance for Catholics in the city of Rome, especially during troubling times.

It was before the original image of Mary and the child Jesus at the shrine where Pope Pius XII prayed in 1944, imploring the Mother of God to protect the Roman people during the final battle for the city’s liberation from Nazi occupation.

Over seven decades later, his successor once again implored Mary’s protection for the city of Rome, Italy and the whole world now threatened by the pandemic.

“Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform to the will of the Father and to do as we are told by Jesus, who has taken upon himself our sufferings and carried our sorrows to lead us, through the cross, to the joy of the resurrection,” Pope Francis prayed.

In his homily during the Mass, Cardinal De Donatis echoed the pope’s prayer to Mary.

“We are here to cry out: ‘Save us, Lord, by your mercy,” he said. “Mary is here with us, and we pray for her powerful intercession to be freed by the evil of the virus.”

The cardinal said the faces of many Christians today, despite their faith, reflect the same anguish experienced by Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Nevertheless, Christians must trust in their heavenly father, like Jesus, who “had the permanent awareness that no one had the power to tear him away from God’s hands.”

“It is an awareness that each one of us must guard in these difficult times,” Cardinal De Donatis said. “The antidote, the therapy for the anguish of the present moment is to entrust yourselves to God’s hands. We are in his hands, and no one can tear us away from him.”

Text of pope’s prayer to Mary during coronavirus pandemic

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Here is a CNS translation of the prayer Pope Francis recited by video March 11 for a special Mass and act of prayer asking Mary to protect Italy and the world during of the coronavirus pandemic.

O Mary,
you always shine on our path
as a sign of salvation and of hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,
who at the cross took part in Jesus’ pain, keeping your faith firm.
You, Salvation of the Roman People,
know what we need,
and we are sure you will provide
so that, as in Cana of Galilee,
we may return to joy and to feasting
after this time of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform to the will of the Father
and to do as we are told by Jesus,
who has taken upon himself our sufferings
and carried our sorrows
to lead us, through the cross,
to the joy of the resurrection. Amen.

Under your protection, we seek refuge, Holy Mother of God. Do not disdain the entreaties of we who are in trial, but deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.

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Deputy head of mission and First Secretary at the Apostolic Nunciature in Wellington Msgr Edward Karaan said the nuncio is not ill, but he is following the guidance issued by the Government on March 2 that travellers from Italy isolate themselves for 14 days.

“He just came from Italy. He is doing the normal thing, following the rules of the New Zealand government. Two days ago, there was an update from the New Zealand Government regarding travellers from Italy. These are just precautionary measures,” Msgr Karaan told NZ Catholic.

In Italy, Archbishop Rugambwa visited his superiors at the Holy See and some of his friends, Msgr Karaan said.

Health Minister David Clark, on March 2, announced the extension of travel restrictions for Iran and China for another seven days.

He also said anyone who has been in northern Italy or South Korea in the last 14 days “will now be registered for self-isolation upon arrival in New Zealand”.

Archbishop Rugambwa arrived back in New Zealand on March 3.

Being in self-isolation means Archbishop Rugambwa will not be able to attend the ordination of Auxiliary Bishop-elect Michael Gielen on Saturday, March 7.

As the nuncio’s deputy, Msgr Karaan said he will be reading the papal bull on the day of the ordination.

“I will also read the message of the nuncio after the reading of the papal bull,” he said.

Archbishop Rugambwa was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to New Zealand and Apostolic Delegate to the countries of the Pacific last year. He replaced the previous nuncio Archbishop Martin Krebs, who was appointed as nuncio to Uruguay.

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