Pastor Christoph Knoll from the Erfurt Thomas community gives the blessing while people sit in their ... [+] cars as they attend an Easter Sunday religious service in a parking lot of the Messe Erfurt trade fair grounds on April 12, 2020 in Erfurt, Germany. The service would normally have been held in a church, but gatherings in churches have been banned as part of measures meant to slow the spread of the virus. Across Germany people and churches are seeking ways to celebrate Easter yet also adhere to the strict limitations on public life imposed by authorities. Churches are livestreaming religious services and children may still hunt Easter eggs, albeit in restricted venues and only with immediate family members. (Photo by Jens Schlueter/Getty Images)
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Topline: Even as the pandemic keeps masses of worshipers out of churches, Easter celebrations continue around the world in parking lots, living rooms and hospitals.
While Easter mass at the Vatican normally draws a crowd of tens of thousands in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis delivered his blessing with only a handful of clergy members present.
His address urged solidarity for Europe in particular as it faces an “epochal challenge, on which will depend not only its future but that of the whole world.”
In Italy, hospitals received donations of chocolate eggs and other Easter treats for medical staff and patients.
Religious leaders from Kenya to California held services to limited groups as governments impose limits on mass gatherings, with many livestreaming their sermons to believers stuck at home.
Drive-in services are also widespread this year, as worshipers gather in their parked cars.
Despite orders by governments to limit Easter gatherings, some churches are planning to forge ahead as usual .
Passover, which started Wednesday night and lasts until Thursday, is also being observed under difficult conditions; the normally-packed Western Wall in Jerusalem now only accommodates a handful of worshipers at a time.
Vatican City
Pope Francis arrives in procession at the St. Peter's Basilica for Easter Mass on April 12, 2020, in ... [+] Vatican City.
Vatican Pool/Getty Images
Italy
Monica Carfora, deputy head of the emergency room at the Santo Spirito Hospital, entices her team ... [+] with a giant chocolate Easter egg as she takes a break for a small Easter celebration in central Rome.
Alessandra Tarantino/ASSOCIATED PRESS
India
A very small number of people attend special prayers on Easter Sunday at a church in Gauhati, India, ... [+] Sunday, April 12, 2020. People around the world are celebrating Easter from the safety of their homes in an effort to help arrest the coronavirus outbreak.
Anupam Nath/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Spain
Bell ringers Patxi Martinez and Pedro Ros, right, wear face masks as they ring the bell at Santa ... [+] Maria Cathedral in remembrance of those who have died from coronavirus, during Easter Sunday, in Pamplona, northern Spain, Sunday, April 12, 2020. COVID-19 causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
United States
People gather at the Mount Davidson cross in San Francisco, Sunday, April 12, 2020. Mount Davidson's ... [+] annual Easter Sunrise Service was canceled for San Francisco's shelter-in-place orders over coronavirus concers.
Jeff Chiu/ASSOCIATED PRESS
South Korea
Choir members wear masks as they pray during an Easter service as South Koreans take measures to ... [+] protect themselves against the spread of COVID-19 at the Yoido Full Gospel Church on April 12, 2020, in Seoul, South Korea.
Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images
United Kingdom
Lois Copley-Jones, 5, who is the photographer's daughter, hunts for Easter eggs in her back garden ... [+] on April 12, 2020, in Newcastle Under Lyme, England. Over 70,000 people across the U.K. have been infected with COVID-19.
Gareth Copley/Gareth Copley
Kenya
Priests conduct a service without a congregation, but which was broadcast on television, at the ... [+] Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Family in Nairobi, Kenya, on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020.
Brian Inganga/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Israel
A small group of socially distanced rabbis take part in the traditional Cohanim prayer (priestly ... [+] blessing), during the Passover holiday at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Ilia Yefimovich/Getty Images
Germany
A woman writes on a board at Kapelle der Versöhnung (The Chapel of Reconciliation) opened on Easter ... [+] Sunday on April 12, 2020, in Berlin, Germany. As churches and chapels cannot hold services, some of them opened doors for visitors.
Maja Hitij/Getty Images
Brazil
One of the faithful wears a face mask as Brazilian priest Father Marcelo Santiago celebrates Easter ... [+] mass behind closed doors the Nossa Senhora do Carmo church in Ouro Preto, Brazil on April 12, 2020.
DOUGLAS MAGNO/AFP via Getty Images
Australia
Somebody dressed as the Easter Bunny meets professional lifeguard Josh Reading from Randwick City ... [+] Council at Maroubra Beach on April 12, 2020, in Sydney, Australia.
James D. Morgan/Getty Images
Uganda
Mathew Ceaser leads the family prayer tor celebrate their Easter Sunday at home in Kampala, Uganda, ... [+] on April 12, 2020.
Badru KATUMBA/AFP via Getty Images
What to watch for: Opera star Andrea Bocelli is livestreaming a concert from the Duomo in Milan. “It will not be an actual concert, but an occasion to pray together through music,” he said.
Italian singer Andrea Bocelli performs outside the Duomo cathedral, on Easter Sunday, in Milan, ... [+] Italy, on April 12, 2020. Bocelli was invited by Milan's Mayor Giuseppe Sala to perform an Easter concert outside an empty Duomo.
Claudio Furlan/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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