Spain Holds Drive-Thru Funerals in the Country's Coronavirus Epicenter

In Madrid's La Almudena cemetery, a dark hearse pulls up in front of the crematorium every 15 minutes. A Catholic priest, Father Edduar, can be seen walking out of the building to greet family members who have come to say their final goodbyes to their deceased loved ones, and all of these are done by national rule in which each group is limited to five or fewer people.

The driver of the vehicle opens the trunk to reveal a simple wooden casket. Standing behind the hearse, under a shaded carport, are the mourners who are keeping their distance. Some of them wear masks and gloves, while avoiding physical contact since kisses and hugs are prohibited.

From the beginning down to the end of the ceremony, the blessings and the prayers only take five minutes. Father Edduar douses the casket with holy water before a pair of staff removes the casket and loads it onto a gurney and roll it inside the building. That is the whole funeral- no visitation, no eulogy, no mass gatherings,and no public burial.

Spain's drive-thru funerals

As the hearse pulls away from the crematorium, another one will take its place minutes later. The short and fast ceremonies are almost as constant as the smoke that is escaping from the chimney of the crematorium, sometimes turning to dark smoke against the sky.

It is a strange scene but it is needed to be done in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus as Spain is the second worst-hit country with 140,511 cases, 13,897 deaths and 43,208 recovered cases. Spaniards are kept in quarantine and are only let out for important errands, such as funerals.

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How priests adjust to the situation

According to Father Edduar, the great pain of losing a loved one can be seen in the faces of those who attends the drive-thru funeral, but unfortunately nothing else could be done. They have to say goodbye to the deceased with no proper sendoff and so few people around. There were others who streamed the brief curbside service on their phones for extended family and friends to share the tragic moment and pay their respects, but still it is not the final sendoff that anyone would want.

The churches are closed in Spain, and this is one of the few places where Spain's Catholic population can see a priest and be blessed. Father Edduar stated, "I try to be close to them. I tell them I'm with them and that they're not alone. Sometimes it upsets me. I cry. It might sound a bit strange, but in this historic moment, I consider this a privilege... my life is for the people -- to be with them in this crucial moment."

Spain has been hit so hard by the coronavirus pandemic, just falling behind on the United States as the country with most cases. Madrid, the capital of the country, is the epicenter of its outbreak, accounting for 40% of the country's death. With morgues unable to handle all of the dead bodies, two ice rinks in the city are now used as temporary morgues. Cemeteries stated that they are burying three times as many bodies as usual.

Although Spain has more than 100,000 cases, the peak of the virus has already hit them and the government is already looking at a decline on new patients, especially after they implemented the strict lockdown measures.