Pope Francis warned against “selfishness” and allowing old “rivalries” to resurface as he urged the European Union to show solidarity amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The pontiff livestreamed Easter Sunday mass from an empty St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, breaking with centuries of tradition.

During his strongly-worded Urbi et Orbi blessing after the mass, Francis said his first thoughts were with “the many who have been directly affected by the coronavirus” as well as the sorrow and hardship the pandemic was causing, “from physical suffering to economic difficulties”.

“In these weeks, the lives of millions of people have suddenly changed,” he said. “For many, remaining at home has been an opportunity to reflect, to withdraw from the frenetic pace of life, stay with loved ones and enjoy their company. For many, though, this is also a time of worry about an uncertain future, about jobs that are at risk and about other consequences of the current crisis.”

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He encouraged political leaders to “work actively for the common good”, and specifically spoke about “the European Union facing an epochal challenge, on which will depend not only its future but that of the whole world”.

The EU has been criticised for a lack of solidarity in its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and particularly for an absence of coordination in its economic response. Financial ministers struck a compromise on Thursday to unlock €500bn of support for countries hit hardest by the pandemic, although the Italian prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, said on Friday it was only a first step and that he would “fight until the end” for eurobonds, which would allow member states to raise funds on the same terms from the financial markets.

“Among the many areas of the world affected by the coronavirus, I think in a special way of Europe,” Francis said. “After the second world war, this beloved continent was able to rise again, thanks to a concrete spirit of solidarity that enabled it to overcome the rivalries of the past. It is more urgent than ever, especially in the present circumstances, that these rivalries do not regain force, but that all recognise themselves as part of a single family and support one another.

“Let us not lose the opportunity to give further proof of solidarity, also by turning to innovative solutions. The only alternative is the selfishness of particular interests and the temptation of a return to the past, at the risk of severely damaging the peaceful coexistence and development of future generations.”

Pope Francis delivered his Easter message in an empty basilica. Last year, 70,000 packed into St Peter’s Square to hear the message.

In another Easter missive, addressed to “brothers and sisters of the popular movements and organisations” grouped in the World Meeting of Popular Movements, which run soup kitchens and provide medical guidance and other vital social services in the multitudinous slums of South America, Francis also came out in favour of a universal basic income.

“You informal workers, independent workers, or workers of the popular economy, do not have a stable salary to resist this moment and the quarantines are unbearable for you,” he said in his missive. “Perhaps it’s time to think of a universal wage that recognises and dignifies the noble and irreplaceable tasks you perform.”

He also addressed the plight of people in slums who find it difficult to self-isolate. “How difficult it is to stay at home for those who live in small precarious houses or who directly have no roof.”

At the Vatican, as Francis asked that society’s most vulnerable – “those living on the peripheries, refugees and the homeless” – not be abandoned, Avvenire, the official newspaper of the Italian bishops’ conference, reported that 105 priests have so far died of coronavirus after becoming infected while tending to the sick. At least 24 nuns are also known to have died, 13 of whom were in Bergamo, the Italian province worst-hit by the virus. Six nuns died following an outbreak of the virus at their convent in Tortona, Piedmont, in March, and five others died in Sanremo, Liguria, in early April.

During his mass on Holy Thursday, Pope Francis said that priests, living and dead, along with doctors and nurses, represented “the saints next door” during the coronavirus emergency.