Guatemala Catholics celebrate Lent's Holy Week rituals with pandemic restrictions

Catholics perform a ritual known as “The Way of the Cross”, the path of suffering and redemption that Jesus Christ endured previous to his crucifixion, in which devotees set up a series of altars t

Catholics perform a ritual known as “The Way of the Cross”, the path of suffering and redemption that Jesus Christ endured previous to his crucifixion, in which devotees set up a series of altars to represent all the stages of the crucifixion, and where they pray “Novenas”, an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks.

In the Catholic tradition, much-used novena prayers include doctrinal statements in addition to a personal petition.

This “The Way of the Cross” ritual was performed in a small neighborhood in the outskirts of Guatemala City, Guatemala, by Catholic devotees during the “Lent” period previous to Holy Week celebrations.

Catholic devotees whom stay faithful to their religion, despite the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic still affecting the world, after a year of its first appearance , perform these rituals as a way to celebrate Lent and Holy Week.

With the Coronavirus pandemic raging on, last year's (2019) celebrations of Lent and Holy Week were suspended by the Vatican, and this year, the traditional Processions in most parts of Latin America were also suspended, with devotees choosing small gatherings to pray and carry effigies and images of Jesus, in the streets.

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced many countries to implement safety measures such as closings, quarantines and isolations, and severe penalties to those who violate the health and sanitary measures enforced to stop the spread of the disease.