Pope back to doing audiences with faithful present

Pope Francis returned to holding audiences in the physical presence of a number of faithful on Wednesday, after a nearly six-month interruption due to the pandemic. Francis greeted several hundred socially distanced and masked visitors in the outdoor space of the San Domaso courtyard of the Apostolic Palace.

Early in November 2020 he had returned to his private library for his Wednesday general audience amid a surge of infections in Europe. In his opening remarks on Wednesday Francis said he was happy to resume that meeting face to face. The Vatican, as a sovereign city state, completed the vaccination campaign of all its residents early in the year.