Pope greets public again at Vatican as faithful gather a safe distance apart

Pope Francis waves to the people below (Gregorio Borgia/AP)

Pope Francis has resumed greeting the public in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican, seven weeks after he halted the Sunday noon ritual to discourage crowds from gathering during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Smiling broadly, Francis appeared at an Apostolic Palace window overlooking the square and greeted a couple of hundred people standing a safe distance apart. Most held umbrellas on a drizzly, windy day.