The Catholic bishop of the city of Padua has called for the provision of sufficient burial space in cemeteries for the Muslims of Italy.

In his Ramadan message, Bishop Claudio Cipolla expressed his " deep sense of closeness” to the Muslim community, which “is going through this important period of the spiritual year in the mid of the difficulties of the pandemic.”

He added “ From the bottom of my heart, I grieve for the Muslim brothers and sisters who died this year. I am aware of the difficulties that the community faces in finding a proper burial place in the cemeteries of our cities."

Only 58 of Italy's 8,000 municipalities have special places for Muslims in their cemeteries. Even when space is available, it is limited and often does not fulfill the demand that soared in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Since national and international trips were banned for several months, the bodies of Muslims who died in Italy could not be transported back to the country from which they originally came.

Cipolla praised the solidarity shown by the Muslim communities during the pandemic " concrete efforts have been made for those people who live in difficult conditions in the pandemic, regardless of what religion they profess.”

He added that "prayer, fasting and charity are a powerful antidote to selfishness” “and wished Muslims to end Ramadan"with joy, to be together with everyone in their worship rooms."

The Archbishop of Bologna, Matteo Zuppi, also conveyed the brotherhood's message to the Muslims of Italy during Ramadan.

"This pandemic, which we all suffer from, should strengthen the bonds of communication between us. We really are "all in the same team," he said.

“We all feel weaker and more fragile, and so we all need support to inspire each other to continue living in the light of love and solidarity.”