Pope Francis' morning Mass broadcast live every day

By Vatican News

Pope Francis' daily Mass from Casa Santa Marta will be livestreamed as of Monday, March 9. Pope Francis made this decision so as to be closer to those who are ill, in quarantine or, for whatever reason, unable to leave their homes.  

The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, said, when replying to questions from journalists, that "due to the risk of spreading the Covid-19 virus, the Holy Father has decided that the private Masses celebrated by him in the Casa Santa Marta be broadcast live in the coming days”. They will be made available through the Vatican News portal, and distributed by Vatican Media to the media partners and to those media outlets who request it. Matteo Bruni concluded his message saying that in this way, "those who would like to follow these celebrations, praying in union with the Bishop of Rome" could do so.

Pope Francis initiated the daily Mass at the Casa Santa Marta at the start of his pontificate. Since then, he has received thousands of the faithful who come in small groups. His homilies at this 7:00am Mass are always off the cuff and synthesized by Vatican Radio - Vatican News and by L'Osservatore Romano. These homilies have become a point of reference for many people throughout the world, and a source of inspiration for priests when preparing their own homilies.

Before now, Pope Francis never wanted his entire morning liturgy to be available through the media. A few weeks after Pope Francis' election, Father Federico Lombardi, in his role as Director of the Holy See Press Office, explained why. "It is necessary to keep in mind the character the Holy Father himself attributed to the morning celebration of the Mass at Santa Marta," he said. "It is a Mass with a group of the faithful present in which the Pope wants to preserve a familiar character. Thus, notwithstanding the requests received, he has explicitly desired that they not be transmitted live in video or audio."

In this case, Pope Francis has consented to the live broadcast of the morning liturgy in light of the emergency being experienced in these days, so as to be near to the families and to all those who are suffering.