Hundreds of thousands of Christians around the globe heeded the call for unity and compassion from the church and came together in prayer to address those sick, dying and in fear of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Today we have gathered together, all the Christians of the world, to pray together the Our Father, the prayer that Jesus taught us,” the Pope said from the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, where his comments—followed by recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in Latin—was live-streamed at noon, local time on March 25. “Right now, we wish to beg mercy for mankind, so sorely tried by the coronavirus pandemic. And we do this together, Christians of every church and community, of every tradition, of every age, language and nation.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welty, who encouraged followers to share a photo or video on social media with the hashtag #praytogether, was happy to join the Pope in reciting the Lords’ Prayer. “This prayer gives us words to pray even when we don’t know how or what to pray,”he said.
Both Christian leaders have been addressing the worldwide health crisis in recent days, urging their communities to find new ways to worship. While all public masses are canceled, the Pope is promoting the idea of “spiritual Communion”—inviting Jesus into one’s heart and soul when receiving the actual sacrament isn’t possible.
The Church of England also recently canceled all church services and Archbishop Welty is set to lead the Church of England’s first virtual Sunday service, which will include prayers, hymns and a short sermon, starting March 29. The Church also made their “Time to Pray” app, which offers simple morning and evening prayer services, free to the public.
“Our life is going to be less characterized by attendance at church on Sunday, and more characterized by the prayer and service we offer each day,” said Archbishop Welty. “This is a defining moment for the Church of England. Are we truly a church for all, or just the church for ourselves?”
