On Saturday, Pope Francis made his first trip since the Vatican’s coronavirus lockdown, though it was a solitary affair for the crowd-loving Argentine due to pandemic precautions.
Francis visited the central Italian town of Assisi, the birthplace of his namesake saint, where he signed his new encyclical a document laying out the pope’s views on key issues called Fratelli tutti on the importance of fraternity and social friendship, particularly during the pandemic.
In the austere tomb of the Saint Francis of Assisi, Francis held a sombre mass for around 20 mask-wearing faithful.
The text of encyclical will be published on Sunday, the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, who lived from 1182-1226 and devoted himself to a life of poverty.
He also stopped at the Basilica of Saint Clare in Assisi, which houses the remains of Clare, the first woman disciple of saint Francis.
The gesture could be in response to a growing controversy over whether the encyclical’s translated title Brothers all excludes women.
The Vatican’s news website published an editorial called An encyclical for all brothers and sisters and emphasized that the Italian title, taken from a quote of Saint Francis, in no way intends to exclude women.
After Francis signed the encyclical on the altar at the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, he expressed his gratitude to three Roman Curia translators, encouraging them to come to his side for applause.
