With the entire Luzon still under enhanced community quarantine due to the continuing spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID), the annual holy week celebration of the Christian community in the Philippines and in the whole world is paralyzed and will resort to technology to proceed with the occasion.
Instead of the usual church visitations, blessing of palms, processions and similar activities, churches will now be streamed online and will be broadcasted on television, radio, and social media.
Holy Week is the time people celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Priests and religious statues are dressed in purple to symbolize ‘gloom’.
The occasion started yesterday, April 5, known as Palm Sunday, believers remember the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. This will continue until Good Friday to commemorate the foot washing, the last supper of the Lord with the apostles, and His crucifixion and death at the calvary.
The last day of Holy Week, Easter Sunday is held to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and victory over sin and death. This is conducted through festivals and activities in churches and provinces.
Similar activities are held in other countries including Spain, Denmark, Guatemala, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and the United States.
To assist in the tradition, Google Maps will be offering a virtual tour of local churches through the feature Street View, which provides a 360-degree view of destinations so users can explore churches as if they are there.
San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish in Sta. Ana, Manila; Daraga Church in Albay; The Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Concepcion in Manila; St. James The Apostle Parish in Pampanga; Saint Gregory The Great Parish Church in Majayjay; Basílica Menor del Santo Niño in Cebu; and San Pedro Cathedral in Davao are some of the churches that can be virtually explored through Google Maps.
To use, open the app on the web, type in a destination, and drag the Pegman located at the bottom right of the screen to a specific area on the map. For mobile, just input the destination and tap on a place marker.
Local churches will also conduct live streamed services and spiritual leaders ask its members to coordinate with them for further instructions.
As new cases pile up and the death toll rises, everyone is tasked to pray for everyone’s safety and to stop this epidemic happening around the world.
Story by Mikaela Alyn Motol and Erin Chloe Mapanao
Photo from Rappler
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