Cold Winds and Snow Force Palm Sunday Adaptations Across Andorra Parishes

Bad weather prompted adaptations to Palm Sunday celebrations across Andorra's parishes, drawing hundreds of faithful despite cold winds, squalls, and overnight snow.

In Andorra la Vella, the blessing of palms, palm fronds, and laurel branches shifted from Plaça del Poble to the more sheltered Plaça Príncep Benlloch, following recommendations from the comú and Civil Protection. At noon, a religious procession left Església de Sant Esteve toward the comú porch, where mossèn Anto read the scriptures and mossèn Ramon Sàrries, archpriest of the Andorran valleys, performed the blessing. Between 300 and 400 people gathered, prompting brief traffic interruptions. Families with children dominated the festive, colorful scene, chanting "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" A procession then returned to the church for Eucharist, where Sàrries described the day as the start of Holy Week. He portrayed Jesus as a humble king on a donkey—symbolizing peace and the poor, not a warhorse of the powerful—and urged deeper engagement with the Passion through Easter, reflecting on human fragility as crowds shift from acclaim to rejection.

In Escaldes-Engordany, around 250 attendees filled Plaça de l'Església for a swift 15-minute rite led by mossèn Toni Elvira, aided by pubilla members. Winds and intense cold persisted after the previous night's snow, likely the season's last. Elvira noted the biblical entry into Jerusalem "probably wasn't as cold as today" before the Gospel reading. Most headed home afterward, while the devout entered Església de Sant Pere Màrtir for Mass.

Sant Julià de Lòria saw a last-minute change via WhatsApp from mossèn Pepe Chisvert at 10am, moving the blessing from Plaça de la Germandat to the parish church on Civil Protection advice. Parishioners hurried inside amid unseasonal chill and sleet, rapidly filling the space as trees along Avinguda Verge de Canòlich whipped in gusts. Latecomers at 11:45am joined unusual crowds; regulars remarked it was packed unlike typical Sundays. Chisvert evoked the day's contrasts: joy at Jesus's triumphant entry on a donkey, sorrow at the week's crucifixion.

Many dressed festively, honoring the saying that not wearing something new signals poverty or idleness—though forecasts sparked debates over coats, jumpers, or duvets. Branches of laurel, olive, and rosemary awaited blessing outside churches, their scents blending with incense and perfumes. Blessed palms traditionally hang on balconies or doors to ward off lightning and calamity, though observers noted graver threats worldwide. Strong gusts ruined hairstyles, sending crowds home quickly, unlike last year's brief post-blessing rain.