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26th Dec 2021

ITV News wrongly announces death of pope on Christmas day

This is not what was meant to happen

Oli Dugmore

This is not what was meant to happen

As millions of Brits celebrated Christmas, one of few religious holidays honoured in the United Kingdom, ITV News mistakenly informed them that the head of the Catholic faith was dead.

Presenter Kylie Pentelow told viewers the religious leader had died (he isn’t) during a live broadcast covering his Christmas message, in which he called for vaccine equality and for more people to get the jab.

Pentelow said: “He said that vaccines should be made available to those most in need.”

Before wrongly adding: “His death was announced, eh, excuse me.”

85-year-old Pope Francis had spoken from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

He said: “Our capacity for social relationships is sorely tried; there is a growing tendency to withdraw, to do it all by ourselves, to stop making an effort to encounter others and do things together.

“On the international level, too, there is the risk of avoiding dialogue; the risk that this complex crisis will lead to taking shortcuts rather than setting out on the longer paths of dialogue. Yet only those paths can lead to the resolution of conflicts and to lasting benefits for all.

“We continue to witness a great number of conflicts, crises and disagreements. These never seem to end, by now we hardly even notice them. We have become so used to them that immense tragedies are now being passed over in silence, we risk not hearing the cry of pain and distress of so many of our brothers and sisters.”

Watch the awkward moment below.