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Backdropped by east Jerusalem's Old City, Franciscan monks walk down the Mount of Olives, some holding palm leaves, during the traditional Palm Sunday procession in Jerusalem Sunday April 9, 2006. (AP)
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| April 10, 2006 |
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Joyously waving palm fronds and flags, about 20,000 Christian pilgrims from around the world marched on Sunday from the Mount of Olives into the Old City of Jerusalem to retrace Jesus' triumphant return to the holy city 2,000 years ago.
The annual Palm Sunday procession began the Christian holy week, leading up to Good Friday, which marks the crucifixion of Jesus, and Easter Sunday, celebrating the resurrection.
The procession drew large crowds for the second year in a row, after several years when pilgrims stayed away because of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby estimated that 20,000 people took part. Armed Israeli police, some on horseback, some on motorcycles, accompanied the peaceful procession.
The sometimes strenuous walk from the Mount of Olives down into the Kidron Valley and up to St. Stephen's Gate, an entrance to the Old City, often had the feeling of a small town parade.
A cacophony of sounds filled the air as some marchers strummed guitars and others banged drums and hoisted loudspeakers - playing songs and prayers in a variety of languages. Some chanted aloud, while others hummed nearly silent hymns.
"It reminds me of a Thanksgiving Day parade," said Sister Catherine Hurley from Newton, New Jersey. "It's not how I would do it, but I'm happy that they are doing it."
Nevertheless, Hurley, a Salesian sister dressed in white with a large cross hanging from her neck, said she was "overwhelmed" by the number of Christians "of all shapes and sizes" converging in the Holy Land.
"They are here for one reason and one reason only - they love Jesus," she said.
Hurley, making the trek for the first time, said she was overjoyed just to be able to be in the place of the "greatest events in the life of Jesus."
"It reminds you how real it is. It happened here, in this place," she said. "I hope that every day, one day at a time, we be the people that Jesus would have wanted us to be."
According to tradition, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey as followers spread palm branches in his path.
Facing the breathtaking view of the Old City of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, the pilgrims waved palm leaves and olive branches as they began their hike on a warm, sunny day.
Priests, led by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah, wore colorful frocks, and marchers carried flags and banners.
The march included a mix of young and old, as local Scouts in assorted uniforms walked alongside elderly nuns and priests.
The march had a distinct international flavor, too, as tourists from around the world joined local Christians for the walk, which took around three hours.
"This is a great opportunity to walk in the path that Jesus passed," said Irene Janeo, 34, from the Philippines.
"You can't explain the feeling," she said as her group sang "praise the lord."
Pilgrims prayed in several languages, as Poles, Haitians, Ethiopians and Bolivians walked alongside each other, flipping through their prayer books as they marched.
Striding among the masses, with a University of Notre Dame baseball cap on his head and olive branch in his hand, Tony Lusvardi, 26, from near Minneapolis, Minnesota, said the march represented all that was good in modern Christianity.
"This is the future of the church," he said. "The youth, the energy and all the international presence ... I'm very optimistic."
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