Palm Sunday. Photo: Laura Castillo /LD
Santo Domingo, DR
At approximately 9:00 in the morning, dozens of Catholics joined together this Sunday to begin the customary procession for Palm Sunday, the day that marks the beginning of Holy Week.
With palms and branches raised, amidst chants and prayers, the believers participated in the religious tradition in the company of their loved ones. Then, they gathered on Archbishop Meriño Street, where they started the so-called procession, a walk until they reached the Santa Barbara church in the Colonial City.
A cross made with branches was the first thing displayed in the crowd’s first row, followed by the incense that they moved from side to side and the archbishop behind, accompanied by the believers who gathered.
The parishioners received the blessing of the branches from the Archbishop of Santo Domingo, Monsignor Francisco Ozoria Acosta, who will later lead the Eucharist in the Church of Santa Barbara in the Colonial City to continue with the commemoration of the official beginning of the Holy Week.
The tradition of the church in the country and the rest of the world is to begin the day with the blessing of the branches, which will later be burned for the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday of next year, and then make a procession through the area of the parishes, along with Jesus Sacrament in some cases, and culminate with the usual Sunday Eucharist.