- Title: German pilgrimage town celebrates first mass after lockdown easing
- Date: 1st May 2020
- Summary: KEVELAER, GERMANY (MAY 1, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF WORSHIPPERS TAKING COMMUNION VARIOUS OF PROCESSION WORSHIPPERS TAKING SEATS PRESIDENT OF THE GERMAN BISHOPS' CONFERENCE GEORG BAETZING BURNING INCENSE VARIOUS OF WORSHIPPERS BAETZING LEADING MASS
- Embargoed: 15th May 2020 12:58
- Keywords: Catholic Christianity church coronavirus coronavirus Germany mass
- Location: KEVELAER, GERMANY
- City: KEVELAER, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001CC3N49L
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:German Catholics were thrilled to attend their first church service on Friday (May 1) since religious gatherings were banned due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the western town of Kevelaer, a place of worship visited by one million pilgrims annually in normal times, the President of the German Bishops' Conference, Georg Baetzing, led an emotional mass in the landmark Basilica of St. Mary.
Religious gatherings have been suspended since mid-March, when a lockdown was imposed to slow the spread of the virus, which has infected about 143,000 in Germany and killed more than 6,500
Germany is currently easing its way out of lockdown, planning to reopen playgrounds, museums and churches from Monday to go with the small shops that reopened this week, and decide within days about schools and sports events.
Germany has withstood the pandemic much better than the United States, Britain and Italy, partly thanks to widespread virus testing, an excellent healthcare system and strict lockdown measures.
While Germany has the sixth-highest number of confirmed infections, at over 162,000, on a par with France and Britain, it has recorded around a quarter of their deaths.
(Production: Andy Kranz, Barbara Woolsey) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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