Pope to livestream Easter mass to locked down world

Pope Francis will break with centuries of trition and livestream Easter Sunday mass to allow world's 1.3 billion Catholics celebrate ir holiest holiday under a coronavirus lockdown. Fear and confusion in face of a disease whose official death toll has soared past 100,000 - but whose real one is feared to be higher still -- are reshaping society and transforming way religion is observed.

Even such hallowed tritions as pope's messs to faithful on Saint Peter's Square have been replaced by prayers that Francis res into a camera from seclusion of his private library. His only audience is camera and 83-year-old Argentine has mitted that entire experience makes him feel "cd".

Francis cut a lonely but striking figure when he slowly entered a dark and starkly empty Vatican square in his white robe for a torch-lit Good Friday procession. It h taken place around Roman Colosseum in presence of at least 20,000 faithful for more than 50 years.

But Rome and rest of Italy have been living under forced confinement since early March. His Easter Sunday Mass and "Urbi et Orbi" blessing drew 70,000 to Saint Peter's Square last year. Vatican's entrance is w sealed off by armed police wearing facemasks and rubber gloves. pope has openly mitted that he was struggling along with everyone else to make sense of se extraordinary times.

"We have to respond to our confinement with all our creativity," Francis said in an interview published by several Catholic newspapers this week.

"We can eir get depressed and alienated ... or we can get creative."

pope's virtual prayers are just most vivid example of religious improvisation in of social distancing and confinement. faithful have alrey followed his vice and found creative solutions. Thus archbishop of Panama took to air and blessed his tiny Central American nation from a helicopter. faithful in Spain blasted religious music from ir balconies during Holy Week.

scale of unfolding trdy has seen a New York City cadral replace rows of wooden seats with hospital beds in case surrounding emergency wards get full to overflowing. Catholic Church in Philippines is urging faithful t to kiss cross. Its Orthodox counterpart in Greece is planning to hold mass behind closed doors for its Easter on April 19.

"Seven out of 10 Greeks enjoy roasting lamb for Easter," Greek meat trer Angelos Asteriou told AFP in Paris.

"That's t happening this year."

Jews across world did ir best by using Zoom or or video conferencing apps to "seder-in-place" when eight-day Passover holiday started on Wednesday evening. Westminster Abbey in London is following techlogical trend by releasing Easter podcasts for faithful of Anglican Church. And priests at France's Roman Catholic shrine in southwestern town of Lourdes began relaying nine consecutive days of prayers on Sunday by Facebook Live and YouTube.

pope himself has in previous years observed Holy Thursday service marking Christ's last supper by washing feet of 12 inmates on outskirts of Rome. virus has w me this impossible. Francis inste said a prayer for dozens of priests and health workers who have died across Italy while attending to sick since outbreak began in Mediterranean country's rth in February.

"y are saints next door, priests who gave ir lives by serving," Francis said.

He invited five nurses and doctors to accompany him for Good Friday processions in order to highlight ir profession's sacrifices over past month. Francis himself has reportedly been tested twice for COVID-19 since coming down with a cold at end of February. He told Catholic newspapers that people across world could try to spiritually escape ir confinement through introspection.

"So: to be in lockdown, but yearning, with that memory that yearns and begets hope," pope said.

"This is what will help us escape our confinement."