In northern Italy’s city of Bergamo, six Catholic priests have died during the past week from the coronavirus disease and, as of Sunday, over 20 priests were hospitalised.

The Bishop of Bergamo, Francesco Beschi, confirmed this numbers speaking with the Italian TV news network RaiNews24.

“Our priests are many, and numerous are those who have exposed themselves [to the virus] to be close to their community,” he said Sunday. “Their illness is an evident sign of closeness, a painful sign of closeness and sharing in the suffering.”

Beschi also said that no one is “exempt” during this “extremely painful trial.”

Bergamo today is the Italian province with the highest number of people who’ve fallen ill. The number of deaths in Bergamo is also growing exponentially, with an estimated 50 people dying daily in this region due to the virus.