Holy Week rites worldwide disrupted, but not spirit

Attendees sit by palm branches as Pope Francis celebrates Palm Sunday Mass behind closed doors in St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2020, during the lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 infection, caused by the novel coronavirus. (AP Photo/pool/Alberto Pizzoli)

MANILA, Philippines s— For Pope Francis at the Vatican, and for Christians worldwide from churches large and small, this will be an Easter like none other: The joyous message of Christ’s resurrection will be delivered to empty pews.

Worries about the coronavirus outbreak have triggered widespread cancellations of Holy Week processions and in-person services. Many pastors will preach on TV or online, tailoring sermons to account for the pandemic.

Many extended families will reunite via Face Time and Zoom rather than around a communal table laden with an Easter feast on April 12.

“I’ll miss Mass and the procession,” said Aida Franco, 86, a retired teacher from Quito, Ecuador. “But God knows better.”

Near-empty basilica

Pope Francis, the first Pontiff from Latin America, will be celebrating Mass for Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday and Easter in a near-empty St. Peter’s Basilica, instead of in the huge square outside filled with Catholic faithful.

In the Pope’s native Argentina, the archbishopric of La Plata encouraged the faithful to use any type of plant at home for a “virtual” blessing that will be live-streamed during Palm Sunday services this weekend.

The pandemic has prompted the cancellation of a renowned annual tradition of sawdust and handmade flower carpets coating the streets of Antigua, a colonial Guatemalan city, during its Holy Week procession. Instead, some residents will make smaller carpets to display outside their homes.

“We know this is happening because of some message from God,” said Cesar Alvarez, who has been making the multicolored carpets with his family for 28 years. “But we’re taking it with a lot of sadness.”

In some communities, there are innovative efforts to boost Easter time morale.

Distancing at egg hunt

At Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village, Kansas, family ministries director Heather Jackson is organizing an Easter egg hunt that embraces social distancing.

Parents and children are creating colorful images of Easter eggs to display in windows or on garage doors, and the “hunt” will entail families driving around in their cars, or strolling on foot, trying to spot as many eggs as possible.

“It’s about keeping people safe while maintaining that sense of joy,” Jackson said. “It will be a difficult time because it’s a time for families to come together and right now we just can’t do that.”

If not for the virus, 32-year-old Chris Burton—a writer, teacher and devout Baptist in Brooklyn, New York—would be planning a trip to Maryland for Easter dinner with his family. Instead, he plans to watch the online service of his church, Trinity Baptist, and then catch up with relatives by phone.

Burton, who has experienced five bouts of pneumonia since 2011, has blogged about the need to shelter in place. Yet he still hopes this Easter will rekindle the uplifting emotions he’s cherished since wearing his Easter suit in childhood.

“All that’s happening doesn’t mean we need to be somber,” he said.

Priest-carrying vehicles

In Venezuela, Catholic officials said that after the Holy Week liturgies, some priests would try to take the Blessed Sacrament—the wine and bread of Holy Communion—on a vehicle and, using loudspeakers, invite congregants to join in spirit from their windows and balconies.

A similar use of priest-carrying vehicles was adapted in the Philippines, Asia’s bastion of Catholicism. Locals lined up in front of their homes in several districts of Manila and Quezon City, which are entering its fourth week of a lockdown that has brought the frenetic metropolis nearly to a halt.

The priests made signs of the cross as they rolled past waving residents marking Palm Sunday, the start of the week that culminates with the observance of Easter.

“This celebration will continue despite the spread of the virus,” said Bong Sosa, who attended wearing a mask crafted from a water cooler bottle.

In Brazil, the world’s biggest Catholic country, Rio de Janeiro’s huge Christ the Redeemer statue has been closed indefinitely. Large Holy Week gatherings are banned in several states after a federal court overruled a decree by President Jair Bolsonaro exempting religious services from quarantine measures.

Many faithful across Latin America say they’ll miss Holy Week’s observances, yet there is acceptance of the cancellations.

Health first

“It’s sad because we can’t be with our Lord in his Calvary, but it’s fine,” said Felipe Navarrete of Santiago, Chile. “The health of the population comes first, and we have to be responsible with older people who join these rituals the most.”

Many pastors are pondering their upcoming Easter sermons, including the Rev. Steven Paulikas of All Saints Episcopal Church in Brooklyn. His sermon will be transmitted online but delivered in an empty church.

“It’s started me thinking about the empty tomb,” he said, referring to the biblical account of Christ’s resurrection after his crucifixion.

“That emptiness was actually the first symbol of this new life,” Paulikas said.

On the evening of April 9—Holy Thursday commemorating the Last Supper of Jesus and his apostles—Paulikas is organizing a communal supper for his congregation, hoping members will join via Face Time.

Sounds and images

At St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Brunswick, Ohio, Father Bob Stec is organizing a pre-Easter initiative, arranging for each of the parish’s 5,500 families to get a friendly call from another member.

He’s expecting upwards of 20,000 people to watch the online Easter service.

“We’re going to try to flood their senses visually and audibly with the sounds and images that will give them hope,” he said.