VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI received the first shot of the coronavirus vaccine on Thursday.

No photos of the 84-year-old pontiff and the 93-year-old retired pope receiving the shots have been released. Francis has advocated that everyone should get inoculated.

"I believe that ethically everyone should take the vaccine,” he told Italy’s Canale 5 TV station on Sunday night. “It is not an option; it is an ethical choice because you are gambling with your health, with your life, but you are also gambling with the lives of others.”

The Vatican has beefed up coronavirus restrictions amid a spike in cases in Italy. The pope, who is missing part of one lung since a surgery in his 20s, has been saying the traditional Angelus blessing from a library in the Apostolic Palace, and not a window overlooking St. Peter’s, in a bid to prevent gatherings.

The Vatican launched its vaccination program this week, administering the Pfizer vaccine. Vatican City has had at least 27 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including a cluster among the Swiss Guards last fall.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.