Epidemics, quarantines, empty
churches: historical precedents
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| Pope Francis at a prayer service in a deserted St Peter's Square in Rome on March 17, 2020 |
The conditions under which Easter of 2020 is being
celebrated are not unprecedented. Popes and bishops over the centuries have
promoted extraordinary measures to contain contagion. The plague of 1576 in
Milan and in Rome in 1656 are examples.
By Vatican News
Millions of Christians in the world are about to experience
a unique Easter this year. Because of the lockdown to avoid the Covid-19
infection, it will not be possible for the faithful in several countries to
participate in the solemn liturgies of the Triduum [3 days preceding Easter]
which commemorate the institution of the Eucharist and the passion, death and
resurrection of Jesus.
There was no lack of discussions and even controversies in
Italy against the bishops who complied with the decisions of the government.
A quick look at the history of past centuries helps to
understand how the dramatic situation we are going through is. It is not
the first time that thousands of victims have been killed by a virus, with
curbs on the ordinary life of Christian communities and limitations to churches
and celebrations.
The plague of 1656
During the plague of 1656, Pope Alexander VII had acted with
great determination to contain the contagion that would lead to one million
deaths throughout the Italian peninsula. In a historical account reported in
the volume, “Descrizione del contagio che da Napoli si comunicò a Roma
nell'anno 1656" (Rome, 1837), we read: "Not only the civil
communities [...] but also the sacred ones were abandoned, namely, the
pontifical chapels, the usual processions, the pious congregations, the
solemnity of the offices in churches; closing those extraordinary festive
occasions much loved by a lot of people”.
The Pope "promulgated a universal jubilee, without
processions or visits to a few specific basilicas, so as to avoid crowding of
people”.
Marco Rapetti Arrigoni, the Italian journalist, writer and
author of articles on pandemics in history and the attitude of religious
authorities, notes in his blog that the “Congregation of Health” [of the city
of Rome dealing with the plague] had a system of quarantine based on the strict
separation of the hospitalized in different parts of the city. There were
separate arrangements for the sick, the suspected cases and those convalescing.
“The purpose was swift isolation and transfer of those infected, with the
compulsory quarantine of all those whom they came in contact with.”
In addition, Arrigoni notes, "the Congregation of
Health, on the Pontiff's mandate, also intervened to regulate the religious
life of the city by introducing considerable limitations.” “Community
Eucharistic adoration in the context of the celebration of the Quarantore [40
hours of adoration] was suspended and processions and sermons in the streets
were banned. Celebrations and ceremonies were held behind closed doors and the
ecclesiastical authorities were limited to private and personal forms of
devotion and prayer."
Despite the restrictions, Romans continued to visit the
Church of Saint Mary in Portico, that housed the icon of the Blessed Virgin of
the Portico, the protector of the city from plagues. Fearing that crowding could
lead to the spread of the infection, the Congregation of Health ordered the
church closed.
The plague of 1576
Just as the Rome of the Pope was concerned about the
salvation of souls as well as the health of its people, so too were the
authorities of the Ambrosian Church [in Milan].
When Milan was hit by a plague in 1576, the Governor of the
city, Antonio de Guzman y Zuñiga, introduced restrictions on pilgrimages.
Arrigoni recalls that entry into the city was allowed only to small groups of a
dozen people in possession of a “bill”, a document, issued by the health
authorities of the territory of origin, certifying the absence of the symptoms
of the pestilence.
Cardinal Charles Borromeo, Archbishop of the Ambrosian
diocese, urged priests to help the sick, himself doing the same. Arrigoni
notes some interesting facts about the cardinal.
Aware of the risks of contagion and to avoid being a vector
of the disease, the cardinal maintained a safe distance while conferring with
his interlocutors. He changed his clothes often and washed them in
boiling water. He purified everything he touched with fire and a sponge
soaked in vinegar that he carried with him always. While visiting his
diocese, Cardinal Borromeo kept coins for alms inside jars full of vinegar.
To ask God to stop the epidemic, the Archbishop of Milan
convoked four processions. They could only be attended by adult men,
divided into two rows, with a distance of 3 meters from one another. The
infected and those suspected of the contagion were barred.
Barefoot and with a rope around his neck, Cardinal Borromeo
himself led the first procession from the Cathedral to the Basilica of Saint
Ambrose.
The archbishop also proposed a general quarantine on all the
citizens who had to lock themselves in their homes for 40 days. An old
report on the saintly archbishop notes that the cardinal did everything that
could benefit the sick and the poor.
On 15 October 1576, the Court of Providence, accepted
Cardinal Borromeo's proposal and decreed a general quarantine for all the
inhabitants of Milan.
On October 18, the cardinal issued a similar edict for the
secular and regular clergy, ordering "ecclesiastics to stay at home",
exempting only priests and religious who took care of the spiritual and
material assistance of the population.
The people of Milan in quarantine could not go to the church
to pray or attend Mass. Saint Charles Borromeo made sure that the crossroads of
the city were marked with crosses and altars, where Masses could be celebrated,
with the faithful participating from far from their windows.
From mid-December, 1576, the spread of the epidemic seemed
to slow down. Despite the improvement in the situation, the authorities
decided to extend the quarantine. Even though the cardinal consented to
the extension, he was sorry that the people could not go to the churches, not
even for Christmas.
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