Vatican Moves Pope's Christmas Message Indoors Because of COVID-19
2020-12-25
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1The leader of the world's Roman Catholics, Pope Francis, will lead his Christmas message from inside the Vatican to avoid gathering large crowds.
2Traditionally, the pope has given his message on the outdoor balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.
3However, the new coronavirus restrictions will change how the Pope's Christmas message will be given, the Vatican said on Tuesday.
4The restrictions bar people from going to St. Peter's Square.
5Papal events will be given live on the internet and broadcasted on television around the world instead.
6Italy plans to have a nationwide lockdown during most of the Christmas and New Year holidays.
7Nonessential shops will be closed between December 24 and 27, December 31 and January 3 and from January 5 to 6.
8On these days, people will be permitted to travel only for work, health or emergency reasons.
9In addition to the Christmas message, five speeches that are usually given from the windows at St. Peter's Square between December 26 and January 6 will be moved inside.
10The rules will restrict the number of people able to attend events inside St. Peter's Basilica in December and early January.
11The pope's Christmas Eve Mass will start two hours earlier than usual.
12Only a limited number of people are to attend.
13They must return home before the 10 p.m. curfew in Italy.
14Italy is facing a second wave of COVID-19 infections.
15For several months, few members of the public have attended events outdoors.
16Now, all meetings are indoors or organized online with limited public involvement.
17Italy was the first Western country hit by the new coronavirus.
18It has had more than 69, 214 deaths linked to the virus since its outbreak started there in February.
19It has had the most deaths in Europe and the fifth-highest number in the world.
20The country has also recorded around two million COVID-19 cases to date.
21I'm Armen Kassabian.
1The leader of the world's Roman Catholics, Pope Francis, will lead his Christmas message from inside the Vatican to avoid gathering large crowds. 2Traditionally, the pope has given his message on the outdoor balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. However, the new coronavirus restrictions will change how the Pope's Christmas message will be given, the Vatican said on Tuesday. 3The restrictions bar people from going to St. Peter's Square. Papal events will be given live on the internet and broadcasted on television around the world instead. 4Italy plans to have a nationwide lockdown during most of the Christmas and New Year holidays. Nonessential shops will be closed between December 24 and 27, December 31 and January 3 and from January 5 to 6. On these days, people will be permitted to travel only for work, health or emergency reasons. 5In addition to the Christmas message, five speeches that are usually given from the windows at St. Peter's Square between December 26 and January 6 will be moved inside. 6The rules will restrict the number of people able to attend events inside St. Peter's Basilica in December and early January. 7The pope's Christmas Eve Mass will start two hours earlier than usual. Only a limited number of people are to attend. They must return home before the 10 p.m. curfew in Italy. 8Italy is facing a second wave of COVID-19 infections. For several months, few members of the public have attended events outdoors. Now, all meetings are indoors or organized online with limited public involvement. 9Italy was the first Western country hit by the new coronavirus. It has had more than 69, 214 deaths linked to the virus since its outbreak started there in February. It has had the most deaths in Europe and the fifth-highest number in the world. The country has also recorded around two million COVID-19 cases to date. 10I'm Armen Kassabian. 11Philip Pullella from Reuters reported this story. Armen Kassabian adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 12We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 13_________________________________________________________ 14Words in This Story 15balcony -n. a raised structure that connects to the side of a building 16papal - adj. related to the pope or the government of the Roman Catholic Church 17lockdown - n. a situation where people are not permitted to leave their homes for an official reason like a health crisis; when prisoners are locked in their cells because of an emergency 18nonessential - adj. not extremely necessary 19Mass - n. a religious service in the Roman Catholic Church 20outbreak - n. a sudden start or increase in a disease or in fighting