Pope Francis said the coronavirus has put everyone “in the same boat” as he held a dramatic, solitary prayer service in St. Peter’s Square, urging the world to see the crisis as a test of solidarity and a reminder of basic values.

The Vatican called the service “An Extraordinary Prayer in the Time of Pandemic,” a sombre echo of an announcement by Italian officials minutes earlier that the coronavirus death toll in the country had surged past 9,000.

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