The deaths of at least ten Catholic priests have been reported in Italy as a result of the Coronavirus.
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Monsignor Vincenzo Rini (pictured above), a priest of the Diocese of Cremona, close to Milan, died on Saturday, March 14, after being infected with Coronavirus.
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Msgr. Rini ran Cremona’s diocesan newspaper for 30 years, and was at one time the president of the Italian bishops’ news agency. He was also a novelist, and a noted literary expert, who served as the Church’s liaison to the Cristina di Savoia Cultural Congresses, which aim to promote Christian culture in Italy.
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In addition to Rini, 9 priests in the Diocese of Bergamo have been reported dead of the coronavirus by Italian news site Bergamo News.
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According to Bergamonews, Bishop Francesco Bechi told Italian journalists that in addition to six priests in his diocese who have died of the virus, 20 others have been hospitalized.
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Bergamo, a city northest of Milan, has been identified as the region most afflicted by infections of coronavirus in the country.
