Italy Opens Churches as Virus Rules Dictate How to Eat, Pray

Faithful sitting in the benches, following the rules of social distancing, during a mass, the first day the presence of faithful was allowed during masses, in Turin, Italy, Monday, May 18, 2020. Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP

VATICAN CITY—Italy and the Vatican allowed the first public Masses to be celebrated since March on May 18 as coronavirus restrictions have been eased further, following a sharp confrontation between church and state over limits on worshiping in the era of COVID-19.

Guards in hazmat suits took the temperatures of the faithful entering St. Peter’s Basilica, where Pope Francis celebrated an early morning Mass for a handful of people commemorating the centenary of the birth of St. John Paul II.