Lockdown Blues: Churches To Hold Online Prayers For Good Friday

With religious institutions, including churches, remaining shut across the country to contain the spread of COVID-19, bishops and priests are planning to live stream the prayer services for Good Friday to Christians on April 10.

Speaking about the online prayer service, Father Warner Dsouza, head of St Jude Church in Mumbai, said, “We have about 800 parishioners. This is going to be hard on everyone but it’s necessary to keep ourselves and everyone else safe. Online broadcasts can never be a substitute for one’s physical presence, but we are not without hope.”

The Holy or Passion Week this year started on Palm Sunday on April 5 will conclude on Easter Sunday on April 12.

Good Friday (falling on April 10 this year) is a part of this holy week. The day is also known as Black Friday, Great Friday, Easter Friday or Holy Friday.

It is a day of fasting and Christians attend prayer services held at churches on this day. In many churches, ‘Passion Plays’ or ‘Easter Pageants’ are conducted to portray the trial and death of Jesus Christ.

Meanwhile, St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican, where nearly 80,000 people gather every year to observe Good Friday, will also wear a deserted look because of restrictions due to the pandemic.