“I may be looking out at empty pews, but in my mind’s eye and with the eyes of my heart, I can see you in your living rooms, in nursing homes, hospital wards or perhaps driving in your cars, all linked spiritually in the ‘family of families’ that is the Church,” said Archbishop Eamon Martin.

"When we ask God for his protection, like St Patrick did, we are asking for serenity and peace of mind," says Archbishop Eamon Martin amid rising anxiety about coronavirus spread.

Monumental achievement for a country that reported the highest number of deaths in the largest, longest and most complex outbreak of Ebola since it first emerged in 1976.

Pontiff prayed in silence in the symbolic cemetery which is dotted with hundreds of small white crosses.