Pope Francis spreads incense at the start of Easter Sunday Mass, inside an empty St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, April 12, 2020.

Pope Francis spreads incense at the start of Easter Sunday Mass, inside an empty St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday, April 12, 2020.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis called for solidarity the world over to confront the “epochal challenge” posed by the coronavirus pandemic, as Christians celebrated a solitary Easter Sunday, blending the joyful feast day with sorrow over the toll the virus has already taken.

Families that normally would attend morning Mass wearing their Easter best and later join friends for celebratory lunches hunkered down at home. Police checkpoints in Europe and closed churches around the globe forced the faithful to watch Easter services online or on TV.

A few lucky Rome residents attended Mass from their balconies overlooking Santa Emerenziana church in the northern Trieste neighborhood, where a priest celebrated a rooftop open-air service.

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