Singing Hymns Through masks, Christians Mark Pandemic Easter

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Christianity’s most joyous feast day is being celebrated worldwide with worshippers spaced apart in pews and singing choruses of “Hallelujah” through face coverings for the second Easter Sunday in a row.

From Protestant churches in South Korea to St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, the faithful observed an Easter shaped by the pandemic.

In Jerusalem, air travel restrictions and quarantine regulations prevented foreign pilgrims from flocking to religious sites during Holy Week even though Israel has launched one of the world’s most successful vaccination campaigns.

At the Vatican, the 200 or so faithful allowed to attend Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica looked lost in the cavernous cathedral.