Thousands gather for Easter in the Old City of Jerusalem for a walk on the Way of the Cross

Thousands gathered in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday for the Via Crucis procession, retracing Jesus’ last steps before his crucifixion, The New York Post reported.

But the ceremony took on a new meaning in 2021, with Jerusalem finally allowing mass religious meetings due to the successful launch of vaccination, which saw a massive decline in COVID-19 cases.

“Last year was a terrible Easter, without people; closed doors. This year is much better, the door is open, we don’t have many people, but we have more hope that things will get better ”, Patriarch Latin of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa told Reuters at the time as he left the church flanked by clergy and faithful carrying sheets palm tree.

“The message of Easter is life and love,” he said. “Despite all the signs of death, corona, pandemic, whatever, we believe in the power of love and life.”

The scenario was very different from 2020, which saw celebrations and religious meetings canceled due to the pandemic.

The situation has not yet returned to normal. Domestic services still have capacity restrictions, and the fact that foreigners are prohibited from entering the country without special permission means that many pilgrims will not be able to attend.

Life is slowly returning to normal in Israel, however, with the reopening of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and allowing mass religious meetings for Easter, signifying a resurrection from normalcy in the midst of the pandemic.

While Catholics this year observe Easter on April 4, the holiday is celebrated almost a month later, on May 2, for Orthodox Christians.

Reuters contributed to this report.