The traditional procession of Palm Sunday: from Bethphage up to Jerusalem, singing and dancing, to commemorate the entry of Jesus in the Holy City.
Palm Sunday continued with another special event: the procession from Bethphage in Jerusalem to mark the route taken by Jesus toward the Holy City.
The streets echoed the same song: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’.
Music, song and dance to exalt the majesty of Jesus.
Among the many dignitaries present: the Nuncio Apostolico to Israel and Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine, Mons. Giuseppe Lazzarotto, the Custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton and the Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Mons. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who in his brief final speech, told the audience:
“Today we walked and sang together, we rejoiced and some even danced together, even without knowing each other, even without having a language in common. We had a good religious fellowship, because we felt united in the joy of belonging to Christ. In Him we found ourselves. In Him we understood each other. We do not need to speak the same language, because our hearts already understood each other.”
“If we want to follow him – continued the Archbishop- if we want to belong to him not only with words, we have to follow him to the cross. (Mt 10, 38) Jesus said.”
“He will bring peace taking upon himself all the evil in the world” – said the Apostolic Administrator. “But because He will do it for love, death on him will have no power, because love is stronger than death.”
At the end of the speech, Monsignor Pizzaballa asked to observe a minute of silence for the victims of the tragedy that today hit the Coptic Church in Tanta, Egypt.