As the Passover celebrations, the Jewish Passover, begin this evening, April 8, 2020, families are urged not to gather outside the home to protect themselves from the coronavirus. Serge Behaïm, president of a synagogue in the 11th arrondissement of Paris closed since March 15, has a heavy heart. "I want to cry," he tells us a few hours before the start of the "Seder", the traditional family meal to commemorate the flight from Egypt and the biblical exodus of the Jewish people. "Instead of being the evening of joy, it will be an evening of tears and pain". Unable to reunite families and friends to celebrate this ritual.

For Catholics, Holy Week, punctuated by the "Easter triduum" - Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday - is also very special this year. Confinement requires, in many dioceses, offices will take place behind closed doors in churches and will be broadcast by various media, from social networks to television channels. In France, since the start of confinement, almost one in two parishes has already broadcast its Sunday celebrations. "I feel a great emotion", explains to France 24 Eric, a parishioner who watches Mass every Sunday. "This mass has incredible strength".

Maintain the bond with the faithful

Thanks to social networks, many representatives of religions still manage to keep in touch with their community. Every Friday, Hassan Younès, imam of the Beauvais mosque, broadcasts his sermon via Facebook Live and is available to answer questions. "The faithful of Muslim faith find themselves a little without reference, they need psycho-spiritual accompaniment and the imam must play his role through his weekly reminder".

A few days before Ramadan, which begins on the evening of April 23, the president of the Faith and Practice association, Hamadi Hammami, is confident: "There have been aperitifs from a distance, there will be breaks from fasting from a distance" .

>> To read: "In France, Muslim and Jewish funeral rites upset by the coronavirus"

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