“Virtual procession of palms” is a campaign proposed to the faithful in Poland. The coronavirus epidemic makes it impossible to participate in the celebrations of Palm Sunday in churches, however, the Church in Poland encourages people not to give up making Easter palms. One can follow the Holy Mass broadcast with their own #palms and then take a photo and post it in the social media with the #palms hashtag.
On Palm Sunday in the Church in Poland, there will be no traditional palm blessings and procession with palms. The commemoration of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem will be celebrated inside the church according to the Holy See’s recommendations. Due to the fact that the number of people in the church is limited to five, the faithful will experience this time mainly in their homes through television broadcasts or the Internet. However, in order to preserve the tradition, the Church in Poland encourages not to give up making Easter palms. She proposes that whole families in their homes should join in the preparation of the palms and then post their photos on the Internet and together create a “Virtual procession with palms”.
The spokesman of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, Fr. Paweł Rytel-Andrianik, has invited to publish the photos with #palms hashtag in social media. As he stressed, the photo can be accompanied by quotations from the Holy Scriptures. Thanks to this, a “virtual procession with palms” is to be created, which normally takes place on Palm Sunday in churches with the participation of believers. “We can prepare the palms from the materials we have in our homes, they can also be green branches,” he said. He added that by participating in the #palm campaign one will be able to share with others the experience of Palm Sunday and build a spiritual community despite quarantine and isolation.
On the Internet one can also find an encouragement for Poles at home and abroad to make a palm, reed or bundle of live or dry flowers together with the household, and then on Palm Sunday (5 April) put it out in the window, on the balcony, on the fence or in the garden of their house. This is to be an expression of faith in Jesus, who conquers death.
