Pope Francis will begin receiving limited public audiences on weekly basis early September, the Vatican announced Wednesday – six months after the head of the Catholic Church halted the practice because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Wednesday events will be held in a closed courtyard of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, where a maximum of 500 seats will be placed, rather than in St Peter’s Square, a Vatican spokesman told AFP.
Entry into the courtyard will open without reservation two hours before the audience, which will start at 09:30 (0730 GMT), the Vatican official said.
Pope Francis last hosted an audience on February 26, as the grip of the COVID-19 disease closed around Italy.
The Pope, who is fond of direct contact, shook hands with dozens of faithful and hugged a few children massed in the front row of the audience of some 12,000 people prior to the shutdown on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the time, few were wearing face masks for protection.
Shortly afterwards, the pope cut back his schedule because of a “cold” – raising questions about his health.
So far, the coronavirus has killed more than 35,000 people in Italy since it was first detected, according to the latest official statistics.