Pope Francis in Urbi et Orbi: Lord, bless the world

Pope Francis presides over a moment of prayer on the sagrato of St Peter’s Basilica, the platform at the top of the steps immediately in front of the façade of the Church, to be concluded with the Pope giving the Urbi et orbi Blessing, on March 27, 2020 at the Vatican. Vincenzo PINTO / AFP

Pope Francis delivered a rare second Urbi et Orbi (to Rome and to the world) blessing from a platform facing an empty St. Peter's Square amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

"Lord, may you bless the world, give health to our bodies and comfort our hearts," the Pontiff asked.

"You ask us not to be afraid. Yet our faith is weak and we are fearful. But you, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm," he added.

Echoing the plea of billions of Catholics throughout the world, he said, "Tell us again, "Do not be afraid.""

"And we together with Peter cast all our anxieties to you because we know that you care for us," he adds.

Pope Francis delivered a rare blessing after spending an hour in prayer at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy.

The prayer and reflection of the Pope was based on Scriptures in which Jesus told his disciples, "Be not afraid."

“Embracing his cross means finding the courage to embrace all the hardships of the present time, abandoning for a moment our eagerness for power and possessions in order to make room for the creativity that only the Spirit is capable of inspiring," he said.

"It means finding the courage to create spaces where everyone can recognize that they are called, and to allow new forms of hospitality, fraternity, and solidarity. By his cross, we have been saved in order to embrace hope and let it strengthen and sustain all measures and all possible avenues for helping us protect ourselves and others. Embracing the Lord in order to embrace hope: that is the strength of faith, which frees us from fear and gives us hope."

Italy is the hardest-hit country in Europe as in the past days has seen a rise in death toll exceeding that of China where the virus that causes COVID-19 originated. As of Friday, the number of COVID-19 cases rose to nearly 86,500, and the death toll reached 9,134.

Vatican City itself was not spared from the disease as the city-state reported one COVID-19 case early this month and another one early this week within the papal residence.

Pope Francis was reported Thursday to have tested negative after the recent scare. —BAP/KG, GMA News