Even if I cannot come down and greet you, in order to protect against dangerous ‘Madame COVID’, I hold each of you in my heart.
Pope Francis expressed this to the relatively small group of socially distant faithful in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall at today’s weekly General Audience, Oct. 28, 2020.
“Today, in this audience, as we have done in the previous audiences, I will stay here,” he confirmed, despite likely disappointing some with hopes of getting closer.
“I like to come down and greet each one of you, but we must keep our distance, because if I come down, then a crowd forms to greet me,” he explained, noting that: “this [crowding] is contrary to the measures and the precautions we must take in order to face “Madame Covid”, and it is harmful to us.”
“Therefore,” he requested, “please excuse me if I do not come down to greet you: I will greet you from here but I hold you in my heart, all of you.”
Likewise, he asked: “please hold me in your heart, and pray for me.”
Pope Francis invited those present to join him in –From a distance–praying for each other, and he thanked them again for their understanding.
