The city of Mozambique marks Palm Sunday in the ruins of the cyclone

In the Mozambican city devastated by the hurricane, Christians celebrated Sunday Palm Sunday among the ruins – a month after Cyclone Idai pbaded through the country, leaving a trail of destruction.

About 400 worshipers crossed the streets for the Palm Sunday procession, with fallen trees and buildings without roof, windows or doors still visible.

A man was holding a wooden cross, guiding hundreds of other believers as the locals watched from the terraces of buildings that survived the hurricane.

The procession ended with a Mbad at the Catholic Church of Lady of Grace Parish, in Barrio Manbade Township, whose zinc roofs were washed away by the cyclone.

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Catholic Holy Week, which ends on Easter Sunday.

"Most of our faithful are still trying to rebuild their homes that were destroyed by the cyclone," Father Celso Taibo, a priest, told AFP.

"But we still have a high number of faithful present because they still believe in God despite what has happened and they believe that this is not a reason to stop believing in. God, "he said.

Buzi was one of the areas hardest hit by the deadly cyclone of southern Africa.

Cyclone Idai ravaged Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe on the night of March 14-15, causing $ 2 billion in damage, according to the World Bank.

In Mozambique alone, more than 600 people have died among the 1.85 million affected, while more than 340 have died in Zimbabwe.

Two streets away from the church, stacks of Bibles, school books and even water-damaged hospital records lay along the edge of the road.