Only a chorus and a few individual priests were together with pope Francis as he marked palm Sunday in st. peter’s basilica.
Usually the easter week, the great point of attraction for the followers of the catholic church in Rome.
But Sunday was pope Francis only in the company of a few priests and a handful of backup singers, as he at a ceremony in st peter’s basilica marked the palm Sunday, and thus the start of easter week.
because of the global coronapandemi, which has hit Italy particularly hard, the progress of the ceremony without the church.
Pope Francis took the opportunity to send a message to the many who are now affected by the pandemic.
– Jesus says to each and every one of us: courage, open your heart with love. You will find comfort in a god who keeps his hand over you, said the pope.
– Reach out to those who suffer and those who are most in need. Let us not focus on what we miss, let us focus on what we can do for others.
Easter is the most important feast of the catholic church. It marks Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
palm Sunday marks the beginning of easter week and is in according to the Bible, the day when the people praised Jesus with branches of palm trees, as he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.
a Few days later turned the people against Jesus and demanded him crucified.
because of coronapandemien are all the ceremonies in the Vatican has been closed to the public.
at the same time is the annual procession to the Colosseum, which usually takes place on good Friday, has been canceled.
– We will celebrate holy week in a quite unusual way, said pope Francis Friday.
Many of the pope’s followers have been concerned for his health during the coronapandemien.
The 83-year-old pope was many years ago removed part of one lung, which makes him particularly vulnerable to luftvejssygdommen Covid-19, which is caused by the coronavirus.
/ritzau/dpa
