Jerusalem’s Palm Sunday procession scaled down due to virus

Palm Sunday celebrations start the Holy Week leading up to Easter. Worshippers in Jerusalem traditionally carry palm fronds and olive branches, and march from the top of the Mount of Olives into the Old City.

By Associated Press

A small group of Franciscan monks and Roman Catholic faithful took to the streets of Jerusalem’s Christian Quarter in the Old City Sunday to distribute olive branches, after the traditional Palm Sunday procession was cancelled due to restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Palm Sunday celebrations start the Holy Week leading up to Easter. Worshippers in Jerusalem traditionally carry palm fronds and olive branches, and march from the top of the Mount of Olives into the Old City.

While thousands of pilgrims usually participate in the march, this year was limited to a handful of participants. Clerics and faithful went door to door often throwing the branches to Christians looking on from their balconies.

“This year, because of the new situation, we are trying to come to all the Christians in our Christian Quarter to bring these branches of olives, the sign of new hope,” said the Rev. Sandro Tomasevic, a Catholic clergyman at the Latin Parish of Jerusalem.

The coronavirus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most patients, who recover within a few weeks. But it is highly contagious and can be spread by people showing no symptoms. It can cause serious illness and death in some patients, particularly the elderly and those with underlying health issues.

In Israel, more than 8,000 people have contracted the coronavirus and 51 have died. The Israeli military began an operation in the hard-hit central city of Bnei Brak, helping to distribute food and medicine.

The Israeli Defense Ministry said it had helped arrange two weeks of airlifts for medical equipment from China. The first plane was scheduled to arrive on Monday, carrying over 900,000 surgical masks and half a million protective suits for medical teams.

Lebanon has reported 520 cases of coronavirus and 18 deaths since the first case was reported in late February.

Churches were mostly empty for Palm Sunday in the tiny Mediterranean country, which has the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East. In some villages, priests drove in pickup trucks decorated with palm and olive branches to celebrate Mass out in the open air, as residents either stood nearby or watched for their balconies.