Deprived of mass, limited to watching the pope via livestream, and forbidden from holding weddings or funerals, Italy's Catholics have seen their daily lives turned upside down by new coronavirus restrictions.

In an effort to show compassion at one of the most trying times for Italians in generations, Pope Francis has asked priests to "have the courage to go out and visit the sick".

That message resonates in a country where 631 deaths and over 10,000 infections have put the medical system under almost unimaginable strain.

More broadly, the virus has destablised almost every aspect of life.

Few, though, have felt the profound changes of the new measures on social distancing measures more than the Catholics, who comprise a majority in the nation of 60 million.

The Italian government has included mass, weddings and funerals in its latest wave of restrictions, which are designed to keep people apart as much as possible.

This is not, as a rule, how the Catholic church works.

- Mourners fined -

A sign on the door of Saint Andrew's cathedral in Portogruaro, on the very edge of Venice, urges churchgoers to "devote a reasonable amount of time to prayer and meditation" at home.

The cathedral itself, like most other things in Italy, will remain closed until April 3.

Burials will continue at Portogruaro but not funerals.

Priests will "ensure the blessing of the body" but in the "strictest privacy", according to the sign on the door.

The new restrictions put Italy in the somewhat absurd situation of fining its own citizens for paying proper respects to the dead.

Almost 50 people were ticketed in Sicily on Tuesday when a vigilant local alerted the police about an illegal funeral march.

Each mourner now faces a 206-euro ($233) fine or three months in jail, although most seem to agree this would be extreme.

But odd things are now happening almost everywhere in Italy.

The holy water font at Saint Andrew's was emptied this week to avoid contagion, leaving the faithful with nothing to wet their fingers as the make the sign of the holy cross.

- Baptisms cancelled -

Still, 10 people filled Saint Andrew's on Tuesday afternoon, including a man in a mask who was listening to Father Giuseppe Grillo's voice emerge from loudspeakers.

The priest was speaking from the sacristy, or vestry, while another priest gave communion, careful to avoid placing the piece of bread embodying Christ directly into the mouths of the faithful during communion.

"We must avoid gatherings," says Father Grillo.

"But the cathedral is large enough that we can celebrate this type of mass," he adds, citing the government's new regulations on everyone staying a metre (three feet) apart.

The priests holds one such improvised mass a day "and nothing else. Not even a funeral".

"I cancelled three baptisms," says Fr Grillo. "The next weddings will be in May, depending on how things go."

- 'We pray alone' -

Churchgoer Beatrice Francescato sounded despondent while reflecting on a world that, in her words, was "going through a difficult time".

"We pray alone, at home. It is a very unpleasant state of affairs."

Back in the Vatican, Pope Francis held his weekly Wednesday "general audience" by livestream from a library, surrounded by 10 prelates.

Usually, the 83-year-old rides around a packed Saint Peter's Square on his "pope mobile", coming out to shake hands and greet the faithful.

The pope would then sit down and read an address on religious and political themes that is then picked up by many of the 1.3 billion Catholics across the world.

But the Vatican reported its first coronavirus infection last week and is awaiting the result on a second test.

The pope complained Sunday of feeling as if he was sitting in a "cage" while delivering his Angelus Prater into a camera instead out of his usual Vatican window.

"But I see you -- I am close to you," the pope added.

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