Coronavirus: Mexico allows drive-through confessions for Easter weekend

Priests hear confession from roadside as churches remain closed

Priests in Mexico are offering drive-through confessions over Easter as churches remain closed during the coronavirus crisis.

Catholic priests in the seaside resort of Acapulco, in the south of the country, have been hearing confession from the side of the road in the days leading up to Easter Sunday.

People have arrived in cars, on motorcycles and on foot throughout holy week.

They are asked to stay in their vehicles while keeping a distance of three metres and are offered face masks and antibacterial gel, newspaper El Sur reports.

The priests also wear face masks and spray disinfectant after each person leaves to “purify” the air.

Video footage shows one priest sitting on a computer chair as he listens to a motorist through a grill on a makeshift confessional in the car park of the Archdiocese of Acapulco’s Pastoral Institute.

Marco Antonio Galeana, priest of the parish of Our Lady of Covadonga, said many people were stressed and anxious because of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and need to strengthen their spirit, El Sur reports.

Many churches plan to make recordings of their Easter services available online.

There have so far been 3,844 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Mexico, including 233 deaths.

The country’s health ministry reported 403 new cases on Friday.