- Title: Jerusalem Palm Sunday ceremony takes place without crowds
- Date: 5th April 2020
- Summary: VARIOUS OF PIZZABALLA HOLDING CROSS DURING CEREMONY PALM SUNDAY CEREMONY UNDERWAY VIEW OF CROSS PIZZABALLA TALKING TO MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTING LATIN PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM, ARCHBISHOP PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA, SAYING: "Usually in this day Jerusalem is full of people. Those are thousands of people coming from all over the world, from all over the country to pray and to celebrate. Today, everything is empty and silent, and it is very, it's very odd, it is very sad so we decided to have this, more prayer here, because it is the maximum you can have in this situation."
- Embargoed: 19th April 2020 16:45
- Keywords: COVID-19 Jerusalem coronavirus mass palm sunday procession
- Location: JERUSALEM
- City: JERUSALEM
- Country: Jerusalem
- Topics: Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA002C87SJEV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: In a solemn ceremony that would usually have been attended by thousands of worshippers, Roman Catholic church leaders on Sunday (April 5) held a special prayer service on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem's Old City and the iconic Golden Dome of the Rock.
Acting Latin Patriarch Of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa said the situation was sad but church leaders must show solidarity with their followers.
Franciscan friars wearing surgical masks and gloves made house calls in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, delivering olive branches to Christians who are self-isolating as a precaution against the coronavirus.
One of the friars used a loudspeaker in the streets of the walled Old City to summon people to their front doors and windows, where they received branches and blessings.
The beginning of the Holy Week leading to Easter, Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem. Scripture speaks of supporters scattering palm fronds in his path, an act often replicated today with branches of other native trees.
Jerusalem's churches, like Muslim and Jewish places of worship, are now closed to the public to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. That has prompted the faithful to find alternatives to group prayer in a month in which the festivals of Passover, Easter and Ramadan will be marked in close succession.
(Production: Dedi Hayun, Ammar Awad, Suheir Sheikh) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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