Toronto’s pandemic Easter weekend includes livestreamed mass and a virtual parade

Many Torontonians spent Easter weekend - the first, and perhaps only, major holiday the COVID-19 crisis will disrupt - improvising ways to keep traditions and customs alive from the safety of their homes.

And with the city reporting reduced sightings of gatherings Sunday, it appeared Mayor John Tory's Easter message to celebrate at home was getting through to residents, at least for now.

"Emphasis on the virtual right now has been really important," Toronto city Councillor Brad Bradford said Sunday after stepping away from a family video chat, their alternative to sharing Easter dinner together.

Bradford represents Beaches-East York, which usually hosts the Beaches Easter Parade - one of the many annual events cancelled because of the pandemic. The rookie councillor and his staff invited residents to place Easter artwork in their windows, while the Beaches Lions Club, which organizes the Queen Street East parade, pulled together a virtual parade made up of Easter-themed photos.

"Despite being physically apart, we are coming together as a community in ways we haven't seen before," Bradford said. "It's trying and challenging for everybody " but we're all finding ways to support each other in a way that respects the guidelines of our medical officials."

The annual Corktown Egg Hunt, which last year attracted an estimated 3,000 people in downtown's Corktown Common park, was also cancelled. Instead, organizers invited kids to a Zoom video conference featuring the Easter Bunny, Spider-Man and "Frozen" characters Elsa and Anna. It was a way to "remind the children that the Easter Bunny is still spreading joy," said Socrates Apallas, a Toronto realtor and one of the organizers.

Meanwhile, church pews remained empty during the most sacred time on the Christian calendar, but dozens of parishes across the GTA livestreamed Easter mass to congregants at home.

At the closed St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica, Thomas Cardinal Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, offered assurances to Catholics that in this time of "tribulation and suffering," God is "still here" despite the absence of physical contact in church.

"He's with us every step of the way on the road, as he was with the disciples," the religious leader said during the Resurrection of the Lord service. "This is a time of deep meditation because we're face to face with life and death, and all trivialities are blown away by the seriousness of this pandemic."

The camera operator at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, also in downtown Toronto, had a full schedule livestreaming six services Sunday.

Father John Sullivan led mass inside the Sherbourne Street church with empty pews, a handful of attendants - including a pianist and singer - and fellow clergy, not seen but whom he thanked afterward. He offered prayers for those affected by the coronavirus and acknowledged this is a time of "global uncertainty," when people are "shut away in our homes." Nevertheless, he broke into a wide smile at the end of the service.

"This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad," he said.

"Happy Easter," he added, clapping his hands.

Betsy Powell is a Toronto-based reporter. Follow her on Twitter: @powellbetsy