Stations of the cross for a global pandemic

1. Jesus is condemned to death. 

Police document signed by the Chinese doctor Li Wenliang, who first tried to raise the alarm about the corona virus. “We want you to calm down, reflect on your actions and solemnly warn you: if you insist on your views, refuse to repent and continue the illegal activity, you will be punished by the law. Do you understand?”

2. Jesus accepts the cross

An emergency field hospital in Wuhan. The first of many to be built in countries all over the world, as the seriousness of the virus becomes clear. 

 3.     Jesus falls the first time

As the virus spreads, so does panic amongst the people. An NHS worker comes to the end of  a long shift and finds empty shelves at the supermarket. 

4. Jesus meets his mother

Italy quickly becomes the European ground zero for the virus, with the numbers of dead reaching horrific proportions. Here, a church in Naples is fumigated to purge it of the virus. Mother Mary watches on. 

5. Simon of Cyrene carries the cross. 

Li Wenliang, the ophthalmologist who tried to alert the world to the crisis, dies of corona virus in Wuhan. He was 34. 

6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus.

An Italian nurse shares a photo of her face after having worn a protective mask all day, caring for corona virus patients.

7. Jesus falls the second time.

Unable to self isolate and with no easy access to sanitation, homeless people are particularly vulnerable to the virus. 

8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem. 

In the UK, pregnant women prisoners who do not pose a high risk of harm to the public are temporarily released from prison to protect them and their babies from virus. 

9. Jesus falls for the third time.

British nurse Areema Nasreen dies of the corona virus, after nursing infected patients. She had three children and worked as a hospital cleaner for 15 years before fulfilling a lifetime ambition to be a nurse. She was 36. 

10. Jesus is stripped of his garments. 

New York state records the highest numbers of deaths in the US due to corona virus. Officials warn that key medical supplies, including ventilators and PPE (personal protective equipment) are dangerously low. The dead in Brooklyn are stored in a refrigerated truck as space in the hospital morgue runs out. 

11. Jesus is nailed to the cross. 

Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, a 13 year old boy from Brixton, dies of the corona virus. He's buried without his family present because they have to self-isolate due to possible infection. 

12. Jesus dies. 

Pope Francis recites the Urbi et Orbi blessing, alone in St Peter's Square. Ahead of the blessing he said: "Thick darkness has gathered over our squares, our streets and our cities; it has taken over our lives, filling everything with a deafening silence and a distressing void, that stops everything as it passes by."

13. Jesus' body is removed. 

Lack of space in Bergamo, Italy, forces officials to remove the dead to other areas, by military convoy. 

14. Jesus is laid in the tomb. 

The death toll continues to rise worldwide. Italy is the worst hit, with Spain and the United States following closely behind. Currently, over a million people have been infected and there have been nearly 70,000 deaths worldwide. 

Lord have mercy. 

Christ have mercy.

Lord have mercy. 

Now we wait, in this Holy Saturday moment. We feel. We grieve. We sit, in the desolation of the tomb, with death all around us, and we wait out the resurrection promise of Jesus. This is holy waiting and it is vital. We honour the dead and we respect those who are suffering, because resurrection cannot be rushed. Amen. 

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