On Palm Sunday, a festive crowd lined the road between Beitfage - on the Mount of Olives - and Jerusalem, the same road that Jesus rode on the back of a donkey to enter the city to celebrate Easter. There is a desire to get together and celebrate: thousands of faithful and pilgrims flocked to the traditional procession, the first without restrictions due to the pandemic. JOSEPHINE Philippines We are a community in Jerusalem. And we want to savor, to enjoy this Palm Sunday celebration. EMMA Usa All of this means a lot to me. I'm from the United States, obviously so far from the Middle East, but the life of Jesus means a lot to me, celebrating Him entering Jerusalem, and what He did afterwards, dying and rising again - that's a great reason to be happy. Br SILVIO ROGELIO DE LA FUENTE, ofm Superior of the Convent of the Palms - Beitfage "This is the sanctuary of joy and of accompanying Jesus on his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This is already an expression of this joy, of this wanting to live and meet Jesus here, in this land, again. The message is just this: come back, the land of Jesus is waiting for you, we are waiting for you, the sanctuaries are ready to welcome you!" Along the way, music and songs of the various groups and communities alternate, expressing the joy of Christians who, at the beginning of Holy Week, want not only to watch Jesus pass by, but to follow Him on His way. Br FRANCESCO PATTON, ofm Custos of the Holy Land "It is the week in which we accompany Jesus in giving his life, and by accompanying him in giving his life we must prepare ourselves to give ours. What Jesus Christ has done is also effective in history, then surely as Christians we must keep our hearts free, cleared of feelings of hatred, hostility, enmity, because it is very easy for these to enter our hearts." Holy Week this year is taking place between the joy of the return of the pilgrims and the tensions that have returned to cause concern for several weeks. HB PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins "Tensions here occur every week, we have to do Easter, we will do Easter. We are tired of violence but we also don't want to let violence stop our celebration. We have to have a party. We have to do Easter!" A message that resounded also in the words that the patriarch pronounced at the end of the procession of the palms, in the church of Saint Anne. HB PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins "We love Jerusalem. We, the Church of Jerusalem, say here to those who want to create divisions: you will not stop our love! We pray for peace in Jerusalem and for all the people who are suffering around the world."