Pope's St Peter's Square address back

Pope Francis has delivered his first Angelus address to worshippers on St Peter's Square since the lifting of restrictions to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

The square in front of St Peter's Basilica had been closed since March and only reopened again on Monday.

For the past weeks, the 83-year-old Francis has delivered his midday prayer from the window of the Vatican Apostolic Library, which was then live-streamed to the faithful outside.

Very few people were allowed on the square on Sunday. Worshippers were required to maintain their distance from one another to protect themselves against contracting the virus.

On May 18, Italy lifted many of the lockdown restrictions imposed on March 10. Religious services have also been permitted since then.