Pope resumes public audiences for first time in six months
AFP/The Local - [email protected] •
12 May, 2021
Updated Wed 12 May 2021 11:34 CEST
Pope Francis blesses attendees as he arrives on May 12, 2021 at San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican, to resume his weekly outdoors general audience with the public after a six-month absence due to the coronavirus crisis. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)
Pope Francis expressed his pleasure at being once again among his flock on Wednesday as he delivered his weekly general audience in public for the first time in six months.
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He greeted a baby, signed a book, donned a hat someone gave him and chatted with children who had painted him pictures as the faithful - all in masks, unlike the vaccinated pontiff - lined up to greet him.
"I am happy to resume this face to face because I tell you one thing - it is not nice to talk in front of nothing, in front of a camera," Francis told them as they sat on socially-distanced chairs to listen to his audience in the San Damaso courtyard at the Vatican.
The pope abandoned his Wednesday public audiences when coronavirus swept across Italy early last year, instead delivering them via video link from the Apostolic Library.
They resumed in September and October - not in St Peter's Square but in the courtyard with a limited crowd of 500 - only to stop once again due to a fresh wave of infections.
Pope Francis addressing attendees in San Damaso courtyard. Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP
The courtyard was not full Wednesday, but the 300 or so people who came expressed their joy at seeing the pope up close.
There was a cheer when he arrived inside the courtyard in a blue Ford.
"Pope Francis, we're with you!" they shouted, standing on chairs to get a better view as he passed by.
A gust of wind lifts Pope Francis' cassock. Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP
"It was lovely, to see him so close - he wasn't in a hurry, he took his time," said a nun from Rome who gave her name as Helene.
"He was happy to be with the people." Thomas Viallon, 34, from Paris, added: "It was the first time we've seen the pope. We were really close. He seemed very close to the people."
As the pope resumes his public-facing activities, the Vatican Museums have also reopened their doors to visitors.
The galleries opened to the public on May 3rd after a two-month closure due to coronavirus restrictions. But they won't be packed with crowds, after visitors complained of "hellish" overcrowding last time the museum reopened in February.
Now visitors must book a specific time slot to ensure distancing.
Pope Francis addressing attendees in San Damaso courtyard. Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP
A gust of wind lifts Pope Francis' cassock. Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP
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