On Palm Sunday we went to a church in Bethpage, on the Mount of Olives between Bethany and Jerusalem, which starts the procession into the old city of Jerusalem. The Latin Patriarch begins the ceremony, leaving the church with the procession in tow and then going up and down the mountain. Along the way, various groups join in the walk. Eventually (after several hours) the parade passes through St. Stephen's gate, into the old city, and ends at St. Anne's church. All told, there must have been at least 10,000 people in the procession.
We walked for awhile with Palestinian Christians, eventually fell in with a large group from Poland, and finally entered the gate past a wildly dancing group of Phillipino Christians. Each group of pilgrims had their own prayers and songs. It was hot, the walk was slow, but the spirits stayed high. The courtyard at St. Anne's was filled with music and pleasantly weary pilgrims.
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