JERUSALEM, Israel – Thousands of Christians kicked off Holy Week in Jerusalem by commemorating Palm Sunday.
Worshippers carrying palm fronds and olive branches led a procession from the Mount of Olives, past the Garden of Gethsemane, to the Old City of Jerusalem.
Palm Sunday marks the day Jesus made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem mounted on a donkey as his followers praised him as the Messiah.
Roman Catholic clergy held mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed to mark the place where Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected 2,000 years ago.
This year, tourists are returning to the land following two years of the pandemic.
“After two years of Covid, of restrictions, of closed churches, today we are in a normal atmosphere,” Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, told Reuters.
“We have a lot of pilgrims, a lot of local Christians. We are very happy. For us, it’s a kind of resurrection.”
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