On the occasion of the 7th anniversary of the beginning of Pope Francis’ pontificate, the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, expressed best wishes to the Pontiff on behalf of the nation.

In this “moment of trial,” when the country is confined because of the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, Italians know that they can “always turn with confidence and gratitude” to the Pope’s “particular solicitude,” he stressed in his message reported by “Vatican News.”

The President hailed the Pontiff’s “special closeness,” who last Sunday prayed for the end of the epidemic, in places of “consolation and hope.” The Holy Father went on pilgrimage to Saint Mary Major and to the church of Saint Marcellus al Corso, which houses the miraculous wooden Crucifix, which saved Rome from the plague in 1522.

In his greeting, President Mattarella referred also to the “demanding” message that Pope Francis proposed  with “indefatigable determination” for “attention to the most vulnerable.”

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