Pope holds Easter Mass at empty St Peter’s Basilica

Pope Francis has celebrated Easter Sunday with a Mass held behind closed doors at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

This year’s Holy Week events were modified to take place without the public. The Pope will also replace his traditional address to crowds at St Peter’s Square with an online message.

Last year, more than 70,000 people joined the celebrations. Italy, one of the countries worst hit by coronavirus, remains in lockdown with the entrance to the Vatican sealed off by police.

On Saturday, the Pope urged people not to “yield to fear” over coronavirus, calling on them to be “messengers of life in a time of death”.