Pope Francis singles out funeral home workers for prayer

Apr 25, 2020

|Associated Press

Pope Francis singles out funeral home workers for prayer — Pat Marmo, owner of Daniel J. Schaefer Funeral Home, walks through his body holding facility that is struggling to handle overflow of clients stemming from COVID-19 deaths, Thursday, April 2, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Credit: John Minchillo/AP.)

ROME — Pope Francis has singled out funeral home workers for people’s prayers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Italy and some other countries, the deaths of people with coronavirus infections have meant funeral parlor workers must deal with the grief of families who aren’t allowed to hold public funerals as part of government-ordered measures to try to contain the pandemic.

Francis says, “What they do is so heavy and sad. They really feel the pain of this pandemic so close.”

The pope made the appeal for prayers during his early morning Mass on Saturday in the Vatican hotel where he resides.

In past remarks, the pope has cited others for doing what he called heroic work during the pandemic, including doctors, nurses, supermarket clerks and transport workers.

The Vatican has its own lockdown, barring the public from its museums and religious ceremonies. It has reported nine coronavirus cases among the residents or employees of the walled, independent Vatican City State.