Saint Patrick's Cathedral Mass: Wednesday, April 15
Saint Patrick's Cathedral holds a private Mass in New York City.
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Pope Francis has a special message for New Yorkers as the city and the state are the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The pope contacted Timothy Cardinal Dolan, archbishop of New York, Tuesday saying New Yorkers were in his prayers in a special way as the city remains the virus epicenter with more than 110,465 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 7,905 deaths.
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“Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, called me this afternoon at about 2 p.m. to express his love, concern, and closeness to all the people of New York, especially those who are sick, during the coronavirus outbreak," Dolan said in a statement to Fox News.
The pope celebrated Easter alone for the first time as Catholic faithful around the world were forced to watch it online. He called Dolan, who presides over St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, from his residence in the Doma Santa Marta.
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"He asked me to relay his prayerful best wishes to the sick, the doctors, nurses, EMTs, medical professionals, and caregivers who are tending to them, our civic leaders, as well as our priests, religious, and lay people," Dolan said. "He mentioned in a special way Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio and the people of the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, and I happily shared the Holy Father’s words with Bishop DiMarzio immediately thereafter."
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At his Easter vigil on Saturday night, Francis urged the faithful not to let the darkness and sorrow of the COVID-19 pandemic rob them of hoping for a better future.
“Tonight we acquire a fundamental right that can never be taken away from us: the right to hope,” he said. “It is a new and living hope that comes from God.”
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