The Easter morning celebration in Jerusalem ends with the long procession around the shrine of the Sepulchre. The passages from the four evangelists narrating the events that took place on the day of the Resurrection are read out. The readers are turned towards the four cardinal points, indicating that from here the Easter proclamation reaches the whole world. Alleluia, the Easter song, resounds. "Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins, said in his homily: "On the first day of the week, we have gathered here at the Sepulchre to bear witness to the event of the Resurrection and to proclaim that the Risen Christ will always remain with us. This brings to an end a week that, thanks to the easing of anti-coronavirus restrictions in Israel, represented the first real opportunity for freedom and great participation by the faithful living here (pilgrims and foreigners are still missing). Last year, the lockdown was still in force at this time. A first return to normality that concerns, for now, only a small part of the Holy Land. FRANCESCO MEUCCI "It was very significant because it had been a long time since we had been able to do something in presence. I came for Palm Sunday, I came today for Easter, and actually there is a taste of normality. It was certainly something that had been missing for a long, long time." In the tomb square one hears the traditional greetings that local Christians, mostly Arabs, exchange at Easter.