The Pope's Vicar for Rome has tested positive for Covid-19 making him the highest-ranking member of the Church hierarchy to have contracted the coronavirus.
Cardinal Angelo De Donatis administers the Diocese of Rome on behalf of Pope Francis, acting as his Vicar-General. The cardinal was admitted to the Gemelli hospital on Monday and although displaying symptoms of a fever is in a generally good condition.
“I am also experiencing this trial, I am at peace and confident”, Cardinal De Donatis said in a statement. “I entrust myself to the Lord, and to the prayers of all you, dear faithful of Rome!”
He added: “I live this moment as an opportunity that Providence has given me to share in the sufferings of so many brothers and sisters. I am offering my prayer for them, for the whole diocesan community, and for the people of the City of Rome”.
The cardinal’s offices are in the Lateran Palace, next to San Giovanni in Laterano, and he has not been to Vatican in recent days. He has been in contact with Pope Francis only by phone.
At the end of last week the Vatican confirmed six cases of coronavirus including an official who lives in the Casa Santa Marta residence with the Pope.
Francis, however, has been tested for Covid-19 and the result was negative. He is understood not to have had contact with the official who tested positive, and since the beginning of March has been taking meals privately and not in the communal dining area.
The Pope is continuing to meet senior Vatican officials and on Monday saw the Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte. Everyone who meets the Pope must first wash their hands with sanitiser.
Cardinal De Donatis is not the only member of the Church hierarchy to have contracted Covid-19. In New Orleans, in the United States, Archbishop Gregory Aymond tested positive, while Czech media are reporting that Cardinal Dominik Duka, the Archbishop of Prague, is self-isolating after a retired auxiliary bishop of Prague contracted the virus.
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