Vatican City, Mar 27, 2020 / 05:40 am
Pope Francis will follow a slightly modified schedule this year for the liturgies of Holy Week and Easter, which will all take place inside St. Peter's Basilica and without the presence of the public, the Vatican announced Friday.
The Vatican published the pope's revised schedule March 27, after the coronavirus pandemic forced a change to the papal Masses and services, usually attended by thousands of people.
The Masses of Holy Week and the Easter Triduum, April 5-12, will now take place at the Altar of the Chair inside St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican announced, confirming that they will be celebrated "without the participation of the public."
Besides the change in location, Pope Francis will also not celebrate the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday, but only the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper, which in recent years he had offered at different prisons in and around Rome.