A Romanian Orthodox priest who took to Facebook to offer prayers and comfort for people affected by coronavirus, has received 150 prayer requests in a few hours, he said.
Father Dan Damaschin from the Cuza Voda Maternity Hospital in Iasi, northeast Romania, offered to pray for people affected by the virus in a post Wednesday, which has been liked more than 800 times.
He said he has so far received 150 prayer requests known as a “pomelnic” in Romanian.
There are no confirmed cases of the virus in Romania, but fears of an outbreak has led to a rush on supermarkets and pharmacies, which have run out of surgical masks.
Some of the people who sent him requests were Romanians living in Italy. There are up to one million Romanians in Italy which reported a total of 374 cases midday Wednesday, with more than 90 new confirmed cases within 24 hours.
The death toll rose from seven to 12 within the same time period. Most cases continued to be in the province of Lombardy.
„The priest said he had learned about “suffering provoked from the outbreak of coronavirus,” from the media and social media.
“We should be together with our brothers and sisters who are affected by this,” he wrote.
He called on the faithful to come to church and pray for those affected by the disease, “while those who can’t get to church should post comments on Facebook,” he added.
„Our dear people, whether near of far, are suffering,” he said. “We ask you to not cease praying for peace, and to help those who are suffering.”
„All those who want to be remembered in our prayers who are affected by the above mentioned events, can send us a prayer request in a comments for their beloved ones” and to pray for “full health, peace of mind and peace in all the world.”
