The usual Midnight Mass, normally held from 9:30 pm in St Peter’s Basilica on December 24, will start at 7:30 pm this year.
With the ceremony normally lasting around 90 minutes, this will allow time for worshippers to get home before the 10:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew comes into effect.
The event normally draws large crowds but the Vatican said attendance at masses celebrated by the pope in December and early January will be very limited due to the need for social distancing.
Italy’s government has kept the nationwide curfew in place over Christmas and New Year, extending it until 7:00 am on New Year’s Day, as it hopes to discourage gatherings – and possible virus transmission –over the festive period.
The 83-year-old pontiff, who is rarely seen wearing a mask, was forced to cancel his weekly general audiences with the public in November due to a rise in infections.
Italy remains one of the European countries worst hit by the pandemic, having reported more than 61,700 deaths and 1.7 million infections.
