ローマ教皇、疫病終息にゆかりの「奇跡の十字架」に祈り

【ローマＡＦＰ＝時事】】ローマ・カトリック教会のフランシスコ教皇（83）は15日、バチカン市国を出てイタリアの首都ローマ市内に赴き、事前の予告なくある教会を訪れて祈りをささげた。イタリアではこの日、新型コロナウイルスによる死者数が1日としてはこれまでで最も多い368人に上った。（写真は伊ローマのサンマルチェロアルコルソ教会で祈りをささげるフランシスコ教皇。バチカンメディア提供）
　ここ数世代で最大の危機に陥っているイタリアでは病床が不足し、国全体が事実上封鎖されている。ローマ市内の通りには、ジョギングをする人や買い物袋を提げた地元住民が時折姿を見せるだけとなっている。
　ローマ教皇庁（バチカン）は最悪の事態に備え、来月５日から始まる聖週間と復活祭（イースター）関連の宗教行事を取りやめるという思い切った措置を講じている。
　フランシスコ教皇も２週間以上前から風邪を引いており、世界の１３億人のカトリック教徒とのコミュニケーションはライブストリーミングで行っている。
　しかしバチカンによると、教皇はこの日、同市のサンタマリアマジョーレ大聖堂を訪問。その後「巡礼に出るかのように徒歩で」サンマルチェロアルコルソ教会まで歩いたという。
　同庁は教皇がこの教会を選んだ理由について、大疫病が終息した「１５２２年に市内各地を巡行した奇跡の十字架」があるためだと説明した。
　同庁によると教皇は「イタリアと世界に影響を及ぼしている今回のパンデミック（世界的な大流行）の収束」を祈るとともに、「大勢の感染者の癒やしを乞い、多くの死者を追悼した」という。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/03/17-13:02）

Pope Francis left Vatican City on Sunday to pray in a Rome cathedral for coronavirus victims as Italy's death toll hit a one-day high of 368.
The 83-year-old pontiff's unannounced visit to a church with a crucifix from the times of the Great Plague came with Italy's hospitals running out beds and the entire nation of 60 million under effective lockdown.
Only occasional joggers and a few locals carrying grocery bags could be seen on the streets of Rome in what has fast become Italy's biggest crisis in several generations.
Official data showed the number of fatalities in the Mediterranean country shooting up by 368 to 1,809 -- more than half of all the fatal cases recorded outside China.
The Vatican took the drastic step of cancelling Easter week celebrations that were set to begin on April 5 as the country braced for the worst.
Pope Francis has been suffering from a cold for more than two weeks and communicating with the world's 1.3 billion Catholics via livestream.
But the Vatican said the pontiff appeared at Rome's Santa Maria Maggiore basilica and then walked on foot, as if on a pilgrimage to the San Marcello al Corso church.
It explained that the pope selected the church because it holds a miraculous crucifix which, in 1522, was carried in procession through city districts to mark the end of the Great Plague.
The pope prayed for the end of the pandemic that affects Italy and the world, imploring for the healing of the many sick, and remembering the many victims, the Vatican said.
- 'Getting worse' -
Milan's Lombardy region governor Attilio Fontana said the situation in areas around the Italian financial hub was only getting worse.
We are close to the point where we will no longer be able to resuscitate people because we will be out of intensive care unit beds, Fontana told Italy's Sky TG24 channel.
We need those machines (doctors) use to ventilate lungs, artificial respirators that unfortunately we cannot find, Fontana said.
The Lombardy region has recorded 1,218 of the Italian deaths officially attributed to COVID-19 over the past three weeks -- more than the rest of Europe combined.
The region of 10 million -- slightly smaller but more economically productive than neighbouring Switzerland to the north -- also has 13,272 reported infections and 767 people in intensive care.
Milan mayor Beppe Sala said he had managed to secure shipments of surgical masks from China to help cover a growing shortage.
Milan has always had excellent relations with the main Chinese cities and I made a few phone calls over the past few days in search of masks, the Milan mayor said.
The first shipment arrived (Friday) and we will now distribute them to doctors, to our staff.
The European Commission also announced the imminent delivery of one million masks from Germany.
Yet the situation remained critical despite Lombardy enjoying a world-class healthcare system that has been praised by the World Health Organization for years.
- Curfew warning -
The governor of Venice's Veneto region to the east also called on everyone to remain in isolation to avoid putting hospitals under further strain.
If you do not follow the rules, the healthcare system will crash and I will have to impose a curfew, Veneto governor Luca Zaia warned.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte insisted on Sunday that his government was paying maximum attention to the situation in the north.
His government put the finishing touches to a new crisis plan that reportedly includes family relief measures such as parental leave pay and help for the self-employed.
The government said it was also in discussion with banks about a suspension of some family mortgage payments.