This Holy Week, take a virtual tours of Jerusalem, from the Garden of Gethsemane to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
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Every Holy Week, in order to draw closer to Jesus in the days before his Crucifixion and glorious Resurrection, Christians gather in church to hear the Gospel readings describing his Passion. This year, during the coronavirus pandemic, as so many of us are not able to go to leave our homes, we must accompany Jesus on our own. With spiritual reading and live-streamed Masses and meditations, this Holy Week has every promise of being a fruitful one.
Read more:
Follow the events of Jesus’ Passion with this timeline
But thanks to these virtual tours from holy sites in Jerusalem, we can draw even closer to Jesus, as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, walked the Via Dolorosa, and finally was crucified at Golgotha. Even though we wish we could go to church, this most demanding Lent may indeed be remembered as the best Lent ever.
Garden of Gethsemane
Take a virtual tour, using Google Map’s street view mode, of the site of Jesus’ arrest the night before his crucifixion. It was here, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, that Jesus went to pray and underwent the agony before his betrayal and arrest.
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Gethsemane olive trees found to be 900 years old and maybe older
The garden is adjacent to the Church of All Nations (also known as the Basilica of the Agony), which houses a section of bedrock where Jesus is said to have prayed before his arrest.
Via Dolorosa
Since as early as the 12th century, pilgrims have followed the Via Dolorosa through the limestone-cobbled streets of Old Jerusalem to accompany Jesus on his way to the cross. The route includes 14 marked stations, from the spot where tradition says Jesus encountered Pontius Pilate to the last four stations, located in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the sacred site of Christ’s death on the Cross.
Wind you way through the Old City using Google Earth’s virtual tour.
Read more:
Walking Jesus’ “Way of the Cross” in Jerusalem (PHOTOS)
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The last stop on the virtual tour for Holy Week is in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which stands on the site where Jesus was crucified. Take a Google Earth tour now.
