The coronavirus pandemic has made it impossible for groups of people to gather in one place. As such, large events have been canceled, with many churches across the nation opting for virtual services. Because the virus is still at large, the same protocol has been applied for Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Nonetheless, notable religious figures such as Joel Osteen and Pope Francis are using technology to deliver some form of service for the Christian holiday. Below is a list of events for those celebrating:
Andrea Bocelli’s ‘Music for Hope’
On Easter Sunday, Bocelli — accompanied by organist Emanuele Vianelli —will be live from the Duomo Cathedral in Milan for a special performance.
“I believe in the strength of praying together; I believe in the Christian Easter, a universal symbol of rebirth that everyone – whether they are believers or not – truly needs right now,” Bocelli said in a statement. “It will be a joy to witness it, in the Duomo, during the Easter celebration which evokes the mystery of birth and rebirth.”
The concert will be livestreamed on YouTube starting at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 12.
Joel Osteen’s Easter Service Featuring Mariah Carey, Kanye West and Tyler Perry
For his part, mega televangelist Joel Osteen and his wife Victoria will not only be delivering Easter messages, by they have also solicited the help of Kanye West (joined by his Sunday Service Choir) and Mariah Carey, who will offer remote performances. Filmmaker Tyler Perry will also join the broadcast.
Osteen’s Easter Sunday services will stream Saturday at 8 p.m. ET and twice on Sunday — at 9:30 a.m. ET and then 12 pm ET. Viewers will be available to watch live on Lakewoodchurch.com/Easter, as well as on Facebook, YouTube, Roku, Apple TV and SiriusXM Channel 128. It can also be stream on Sling TV’s Free Plan.
Pope Francis’ Easter Mass
“For early birds looking to catch Easter Mass presided over by Pope Francis, Vatican News will be streaming the service held at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on YouTube. The stream kicks off at 4:55 a.m. ET, which is 10:55 a.m. in Vatican City,” USA Today reports.
Performance by English Touring Opera
The English Touring Opera announced their broadcast debut with a performance of Bach’s St. Johns Passion on Easter Sunday. Their performance will also be live streamed on YouTube at 11 a.m ET.
“Once we knew that in the interests of everyone’s safety the performances had to be cancelled, we set our minds to thinking about a way in which some of the spirit of those performances could be saved,” artistic director James Conway said in a statement. “If there is a chance, we urge you to tune in together with us this Easter Sunday at 4pm, and to share your thoughts afterwards; you might otherwise join us when you would have performed or attended.”
Univision’s Holy Week
Univision starts their commemoration on Saturday with an hour-long special titled, “Tierra Santa, donde todo empezó” (Holy Land, Where Everything Began), which follows journalist Maria Antoineta Collins’ travels to the Holy Land. The special is slated to air at 7 p.m. ET.
In addition to live streaming Pope Francis sermon in Spanish, Univision will air a special edition of “Despierta América” that will focus on recapping the end of Holy Week on Sunday. The network will also be showing biblical movies such as “Jesús, María, y José” at 12 p.m. ET. and “Hijo de Dios” (Son of God) at 8 p.m. ET.
You can stream Univsion live with 7-Day Free Trial of fuboTV.