December 25, 2024

It’s a Good Friday celebration unlike any other.

The pews will be empty, parish doors closed, and there will be no hymns in the air – on a day that’s supposed to mark the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.

But that doesn’t mean services aren’t going ahead. In the Vatican, events will be live-streamed for a global audience, and then archived for later viewing.

Thousands of churches around the world are doing the same. In Singapore, some pastors have begun pre-recording their Good Friday messages.

In Australia, the St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney will additionally stream an Easter Vigil Mass as well as an Easter Sunday Mass which will be broadcast live on TV.

“Never before in modern times has the Catholic Church here been so stripped of our rich liturgical traditions,” said the Archbishop of Singapore William Goh. “While it is painful. I believe this is a period for us to dig deeper into our faith.”

A monk from the Order of Friars Minor Capuchins prepares the tomb of Christ inside the Cloister Church in Krakow
BBC
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