Covid-19: Christians, Jews and
Muslims join in prayer in Jerusalem
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| Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders pray together in Jerusalem (Andrea Krogman) |
The Franciscan Custodian of the Holy Land reflects on the
significance of a common prayer raised to the Lord by believers of the three
Abrahamic religions in the sacred city of Jerusalem.
By Linda Bordoni
The leaders of the three Abrahamic religions – Christians,
Jews and Muslims – prayed together in Jerusalem on Thursday amid the global
Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic.
The initiative, taken by the Mayor of the Holy City, took
place at 12.30 pm local time at Jerusalem City Hall and saw the presence of
representatives of other faiths as well, including Druze and Bahai.
Speaking to Vatican Radio before the common prayer, the
Franciscan Custodian of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Patton, highlighted the
significance of this moment and explained that every religion was to recite a
prayer according to its own tradition.
“We will be together to pray to the Almighty God that this
pandemic may stop,” Fr. Patton said explaining the initiative has a deep
spiritual significance.
“It is important in itself because we are all believers with
the same roots; and thanks to this same root we can express with faith and with
confidence our prayer to God the Almighty,” he said.
The common prayer comes on the heels of a joint communiqué,
issued on 21 March, in which the leaders of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
(Latin, Greek Orthodox and Armenian) expressed their hope that "in this
dangerous situation all the children of Abraham could pray together to the
Almighty to ask for protection and mercy".
What kind of Easter will this be?
Fr. Patton looked ahead to Easter in Jerusalem pointing out that
it will not be as solemn as usual because “it will be with few celebrations,
without pilgrims and with small local communities,” but he said, “it will be
Easter all the same.”
His words reverberate as the city’s Church of the Holy
Sepulchre, revered by Christians as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial,
has been closed as a precautionary measure to curb the spread of the
coronavirus, meaning that Easter celebrations at the Sepulchre will take place
behind closed doors.
“At Easter we don’t celebrate the number of faithful,”
Father Patton concluded, “we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and it
is in the Resurrection that we can find hope, not in the number of those
celebrating!”
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