Catholic faithfuls attend a Palm Sunday mass at the Monastery of Saint Saviour in Jerusalem's Old City Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

AP-Easter celebrations are canceled

The Latin Patriarchate canceled the Palm Sunday procession in Jerusalem, complying with Israeli military guidelines that limited gatherings to under 50 people.

Despite that, the Patriarchate said Jerusalem police prevented the Catholic Church’s top leaders from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate the Mass marking Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

The church called it “a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure” and said it was “the first time in centuries” that its leaders were prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday at the place where Christians believe Jesus was crucified.

The Jerusalem police said the leaders were informed that they could not enter the church due to safety concerns, since it does not have adequate emergency access or shelters in case of a missile attack.

The traditional Palm Sunday procession normally sees tens of thousands of Christians from around the world walk from the Mount of Olives down the narrow, hilly streets toward the Old City, waving palm fronds and singing.

Rami Asakrieh, the parish priest for Jerusalem’s Catholics, said the community will sorely miss the procession, a deeply emotional and spiritual part of the holiday. But the cancellation is also a reminder that faith comes internally from the heart, not from external actions, he added.

“We are celebrating resurrection, resurrection is from death and winning the pain and the war,” he said. “It will not come by having fear, but by having faith.”

A local Catholic high school, empty of students as classes have been canceled, was also recently hit by debris from an Iranian missile interception, Asakrieh said.

A Franciscan priest, Asakrieh is still celebrating Mass for up to 50 parishioners at the Saint Savoir monastery’s cavernous marble hall, near the centuries-old complex’s music school, the Magnificat Institute. The school was built in what was once the convent’s basement, which has been approved by the Israeli military as a suitable shelter.

Jerusalem’s smaller synagogues, mosques and churches are also open to groups of up to 50 people — if they are located close to a shelter or a safe space.