We all suffer because of the global pandemic. All the travels had been cancelled. We have stayed at home. The streets of our cities and villages became empty.
The Holy Places were closed for many weeks as well. The Nativity Grotto in Bethlehem and the Holy Tomb in Jerusalem were not accessible for the faithful. Only the priests and monks who lived in the shrines continued to celebrate their liturgies.
These days many churches in the Holy Land are open, but only a handful of people come to pray there. The empty Tomb of Jesus is really empty, which is an unusual view for our pilgrims, who saw it full of multilingual crowds.
We pray that we may see you all soon in the shrines of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Galilee. We wait for you!