Roman Catholics celebrate Palm Sunday through Latin America amid coronavirus outbreak

Roman Catholics celebrated Palm Sunday through Latin America amid coronavirus outbreak. In Venezuela, an open-air Mass was delivered to Roman Catholics who are self-isolating as a precaution against the new coronavirus. In Havana, parishioners received branches and blessings. In Mexico, churches were opened for prayer and to the south of the city, festivals were celebrated behind closed doors under the strict sanitary measures.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis marked Palm Sunday in an empty St. Peter's Basilica, urging people living through the pandemic not to be so concerned with what they lack but how they can ease the suffering of others. The beginning of the Holy Week leading to Easter, Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem. Scripture speaks of his supporters scattering palm fronds in his path, an act often replicated today with branches of other native trees.