(LifeSiteNews) — The traditional Palm Sunday procession in the Holy Land will be canceled this year due to the war between Israel and Iran, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, announced Sunday.

In his letter, Pizzaballa wrote that, while “the situation is constantly evolving” and it is impossible to determine what acts of war might affect the area in the days to come, “It is already clear, however, that ordinary celebrations open to all cannot take place.”

“The traditional Palm Sunday procession, which goes up to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, to Jerusalem is canceled,” said Pizzaballa, adding that it will be replaced by a “moment of prayer for the city of Jerusalem,” at a yet-to-be-determined location.

Moreover, the Chrism Mass – during which a bishop, on Holy Thursday morning or earlier, consecrates the Sacred Chrism and blesses other oils used in the sacraments throughout the year – is to be postponed and determined “as soon as the situation allows.”

Pizzaballa noted that Churches will remain open, but due to the war and restrictions by the Israeli government, the faithful will not be “able to celebrate Easter together.” 

Holy Week and Easter services at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre are expected to involve religious and clergy only, Joseph Hazboun, regional director of the office of CNEWA/Pontifical Mission for Palestine in Jerusalem, recently told the Catholic Register.

“The church leaders intend to meet with (a) representative of the police to impress on them the need to allow Easter celebrations, even if at a reduced capacity, similar to the pandemic restrictions,” said Sami el-Yousef, chief executive officer of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. “We shall see whether that will bear any results.”

The head of Israel’s governing body in the occupied West Bank announced March 5 that, “All holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Western Wall, the Temple Mount and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, will remain closed” due to Iran’s retaliatory strikes happening in the region.

Since the prohibition, entry to the key religious sites in Jerusalem’s Old City have faced severe limitations.

And as the Church approaches its observances of Holy Week rites and the celebration of Christ’s resurrection on Easter, concern regarding the closure of the Church where these defining events took place, is reverberating across the Christian world.

On Monday, it was reported that fragments from missiles launched by Iran along with debris from Israeli interceptors fell to the ground around Jerusalem’s Old City. According to The New York Times, “a spokesman for the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem said a fragment landed several hundred feet from the church” and “at least one person was injured.”