Historical Easter festivals in Jerusalem

4/9/2020, 6:45:31 PM

Despite the closing of the Holy Sepulcher and the absence of pilgrims, the ceremonies take place in smaller groups.

In the Christian liturgical calendar, Palm Sunday kicks off Holy Week but also commemorates the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, where he was acclaimed, according to the Gospels, by a crowd waving palm leaves and putting down coats on his way. Each year, the pre-Easter Sunday procession leads the faithful from the Mount of Olives to Saint Anne's Basilica, a French property in the Old Town located opposite the Esplanade of the Mosques where Jacques Chirac and Emmanuel Macron distinguished themselves by buttressing the Israeli police.

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Usually scouts lead the way. They are followed by a compact crowd of local Christians and pilgrims. The Patriarch of Jerusalem is surrounded by the Apostolic Nuncio and the Custos of the Holy Land. Behind them, as guests of honor, the consuls general of the four Latin nations: Italy, Spain, Belgium and France close down. In recent years, the procession has gathered from 15,000 to 20,000