After two years of pandemic disruptions, Quebec Christians marked Good Friday with the return of full capacity in-person Easter services and a traditional procession through the streets of Montreal.
Montreal Catholic Archbishop Christian Lepine led a silent crowd on the Way of the Cross procession that began at the historic Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours church in Old Montreal.
The masked crowd followed the tall wooden cross as it was carried through the sunny streets, stopping for hymns and prayers at several different churches along the way.
At the iconic Notre-Dame Basilica, employees stood guard at the door, dutifully reminding visitors to mask up.
The procession, which commemorates the events leading to Jesus’ Crucifixion and death, was cancelled for the last two years.
Lepine said the Easter message is one of hope at a time when the world is struggling with the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jesus’ death and resurrection, he said, is particularly poignant at a time of turmoil. It shows that “Love is stronger than death, love is stronger than suffering, love is stronger than evil,” he said.
This is the first Easter that churches have been to host full-capacity in-person events since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Gatherings were not permitted in 2020, while church attendance was capped at 250 people in 2021.
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Lepine said the church, like many parts of society, has also faced economic hardship and the challenges of remaining connected in the absence of in-person services.
Quebec’s Catholic churches, which have long struggled with low attendance and soaring maintenance costs, were hit by a new set of challenges including lack of collection plate income, as well as the loss of donations and other revenue from visiting tourists.
Lepine said the church had to adapt to the pandemic by holding more events online, and by reaching out by phone to community members who aren’t Internet savvy.
Gaetan Desrosiers, a lifelong churchgoer, said he’d adjusted during the pandemic by attending services online, and even outdoors in parking lots in the dead of winter. When indoor services first resumed, the 70-year-old had to change churches because his usual site wasn’t big enough to accommodate everyone due to limited capacity.
This year, he said he felt compelled to join the Good Friday procession in person to pay tribute to the victims of the war in Ukraine.
“To have so many persons that will die — Russian people also, the young soldiers between 18 and 22 years old — for nothing,” he said ahead of the Montreal procession. “That’s why I have to be here.”
While this is the first time since COVID-19 that there has been a procession and an Easter mass without capacity limits, Lepine said churches are still taking precautions by asking people to wear masks and limiting singing.
“It’s a joy, but at the same time it’s a calm joy because we know we’re not over with COVID yet,” he said. “We’re happy to be able to do something, but the sensation is still there.”
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