POPE FRANCIS VISITS ASSISI IN FIRST TRIP AFTER PANDEMIC HIT

Pope Francis signed a new encyclical called "Fratelli tutti" (All Brothers) in the Italian town of Assisi on Saturday, his first trip outside Rome since the coronavirus pandemic erupted, Petra Kaminsky reported for the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

An encyclical is a letter containing an important teaching that is circulated by the pope to the Church. Before signing the encyclical, the pope first celebrated a mass at the tomb of St. Francis, attended by 20 people including Cardinal Agostino Vallini. Most of the worshippers wore protective face masks.

It is the pope's third encyclical, and is about brotherhood in the world and social cohesion. The text is also expected to touch on the crisis unleashed by the coronavirus, and its consequences.

According to the Italian news agency ANSA, the pope travelled to the town in the Umbria region by car, and waved to onlookers during his journey. He also stopped to visit the convent of Poor Clares of Vallegloria in Spello, ANSA reported.