Pope Francis to livestream Holy Week events amid COVID-19 pandemic

Pope Francis will be unprecedentedly celebrating this year's Holy Week without the presence of the faithful.

Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the Papal events during the week-long tradition will be celebrated online, streamed live from the Vatican on EWTN's website.

In a video message, Pope Francis said, " We will celebrate Holy Week in a truly unusual way, which manifests and sums up the message of the Gospel, that of God’s boundless love. And in the silence of our cities, the Easter Gospel will resound."

"This Paschal faith nourishes our hope. I would like to share it with you this evening. It is the hope of a better time, in which we can be better, finally freed from evil and from this pandemic. It is a hope: hope does not disappoint; it is not an illusion, it is a hope," he added.

EWTN released the Holy Week 2020 schedule of Papal events.

Pope Francis has cancelled his main public appearances and has instead been streaming events online from inside the Vatican to combat the spread of COVID-19.

As of Friday, 972,303 cases have been confirmed and 50,322 people have died due to COVID-19 all around the world, according to the World Health Organization.

—Kaela Malig/JCB, GMA News