VATICAN CITY (AP) – Christianity’s most joyous holiday was celebrated worldwide with the faithful spaced in benches and chanting choruses of “Hallelujah” through face covering on Easter Monday marked by pandemic precautions.
From huge Roman Catholic cathedrals to Protestant churches, worshipers followed regulations on the coronavirus. In some European countries, citizens queued out of turn at Easter to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
In the Lombardy region of Italy, where the pandemic first broke out in the West, a hospital gave a traditional dove-shaped Easter cake symbolizing peace to anyone awaiting vaccination. Many who came were in their eighties.
A football team in Lyon, France, opened its stadium as a vaccination center for the long holiday weekend. About 9,000 people were expected to get their shot there for three days as the French government tries to speed up vaccinations amid a new outbreak of infections.
In the Holy Land, travel restrictions and quarantine regulations prevented foreign pilgrims from flocking to religious sites in Jerusalem during Holy Week, which culminates in Easter celebrations. Pope Francis lamented that the pandemic prevented some churchgoers from attending services.
In St. Peter’s Basilica, the approximately 200 worshipers present seemed lost in the cavernous cathedral. Normally there were thousands at the Mass celebrated by Francis, and more than 100,000 sometimes gathered outside in St. Peter’s Square to receive his Easter blessing afterward.
But this year, as in 2020, crowds are not allowed to gather in Italy and the Vatican. Francis gave his Easter afternoon speech on world affairs from the basilica, seizing the opportunity to reiterate the call for vaccines to reach the poorest countries.
The Pope sounded weary to note that pandemic measures have influenced the traditions of religious holidays and have deterred some from public worship.
“We pray that these restrictions, as well as all restrictions on freedom of worship and religion worldwide, may be lifted and that everyone may freely pray and praise God,” said Francis.
In Syria, where a national vaccination program has yet to begin, churchgoers in the Lady of Damascus Church prayed for a way out of the economic and political crisis that was only exacerbated by the pandemic.
“We came to church at Easter, so we got rid of the pandemic,” Bassam Assaf said. “Of course we are not afraid of the corona virus. It is the reality we face, but it cannot stop us from coming and praying to God to get us out of this trial and help the world. “
A service in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City of Jerusalem was celebrated by the high Roman Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land. That is where many Christians believe that Jesus was crucified, buried, and rose from the dead. Israel’s successful vaccination campaign has allowed the reopening of many places, including religious sites.
The pandemic prevented Seville’s Brotherhood of the Holy Resurrection from sending its ornate Easter float with a towering statue of Jesus through the streets of the Spanish city. Instead, the Brotherhood posted videos and old photos of their last procession two years ago.
Some Pentecostal Christians in South Africa have canceled a three-day retreat that begins on Good Friday. On the hills overlooking Soweto, a Johannesburg township, Apostolic Pentecostals gathered in small groups on Sunday to celebrate Easter.
In South Korea, the Yoido Full Gospel Church, the country’s largest Protestant church, allowed only about 2,000 people to attend the Easter service, or about 17% of the main building’s capacity. Masked worshipers sang hymns and prayed while the service was broadcast online and on Christian TV channels.
With a view to stopping weeks of escalating infections, the Italian government ordered people to stay home for the three-day weekend except for essential groceries. Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government allowed one visit to family or friends in the residents’ home regions during the weekend, including the national holiday on Monday.
Italy allows religious services during the pandemic when capacity is limited and masks are worn. But in the beginning, the predominantly Roman Catholic country’s many churches were open only to individual prayer.
Hundreds of Catholics gathered on Saturday night in the gigantic St. Paul Cathedral in St. Paul, Minnesota for the Easter Vigil. Every other bank was kept empty and masks were required. Still, the solemn liturgy marked a new and hopeful beginning for the congregation after a turbulent year.
After a full virtual Easter service last year, New York City’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral was half full for Sunday Mass. Worshipers spread out in the vaulted neo-Gothic cathedral, which can accommodate more than 2,000 people. The choir sang with masks.
In Detroit, the Hartford Memorial Baptist Church was opened for the first time in more than a year for personal Easter services, with capacity limits and social distance rules. Reverend Charles Christian Adams told the Detroit Free Press that people need church, especially after the branch lost at least 14 members to COVID-19.
Tonee Carpio said that being physically at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Austin, Texas, meant a lot to her after services were offered online only last year. She said being in church keeps her Filipino culture alive in her city as some prayers are offered in her native Tagalog.
“When you are in a church you become more solemn, you can focus on God,” she said.
In Florida, Eastgate Christian Fellowship in Panama City Beach hosted the annual sunrise service on the beach. The church had to cancel the service last year because all beaches were closed. Pastor Janelle Green estimated that about 400 people took part.
Robin Fox of Palm Bay planned to spend Sunday driving her mother to Orlando to receive a second dose of vaccine at a Federal Emergency Management Agency property.
“She’s given that freedom the same day (people go to) church to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, so I said (to her), ‘It’s like you’re being resurrected too,’ Fox said.
AP reporters from around the world contributed.
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