ROME – A masked Pope Francis welcomed religious leaders to a socially-distanced interfaith peace prayer Tuesday, appealing for a unified international effort to work for peace and an end to the coronavirus pandemic.Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Sikh and Hindu leaders stood for a minute of silence to pray for all the victims of COVID-19 and a universally available vaccine, as the sun set on the piazza overlooking the Roman Forum. “The pandemic is reminding us that we are blood brothers and sisters,” they said in a joint appeal issued at the end of the service.For weeks, Francis has shunned facemasks in his public and private audiences despite a surge in COVID-19 cases across Italy and even inside Vatican City.