Source:  News Release

A cross between legend and love – Palm Sunday and the donkey

The Bible reports that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday (which falls on 1^st April this year), and each year international animal welfare charity The Donkey Sanctuary is asked to illustrate that link by taking donkeys to church.

Central to this tradition is the visible cross that many donkeys have on their backs, a darker hair marking that runs down their back and across their shoulders.  There are several theories as to how this got there and what it represents, and one of these comes from the Christian Palm Sunday story of Jesus’ crucifixion at Calvary.  According to this, Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem and to the hill at Calvary, where he was forced to carry the cross on which he would later be crucified. Being a beast of burden, the little donkey wished he had been able to carry the cross for Jesus. Upset at the tragic event that was taking place, the donkey turned his back on the sight, but because of his love for Jesus he could not leave until it was all over.

It is told that as the sun was setting on the day and on Jesus’ life, the shadow of the cross fell across the donkey’s back. Since that time, donkeys have carried the mark of the cross as a sign of love from God. The reward the humble donkey received has forevermore been shown for all to see.

In light of this story, it seems apt that the donkey leading the procession to Exeter Cathedral on Palm Sunday (1st April) has a prominent cross on his back.  This will be the third year that Shirgar, a much-loved donkey resident at The Donkey Sanctuary’s headquarters in Sidmouth, Devon, has held this position of honour at one of the region’s biggest Palm Sunday events.  The procession leaves the Cathedral at 9:30am, returning via the city’s historic Guildhall for the start of the Cathedral’s 10am service.

Donkeys from the charity are also taking part in eight other Palm Sunday services at churches in Budleigh Salterton, Colyton, Exwick, Farway, Kilmington, Ottery St Mary, Venn Ottery and West Hill.

Emma Gill, PR Officer for The Donkey Sanctuary, says: “Whatever your views on the origins of the donkey’s cross, it is great to be able to make the link between donkeys and the Biblical Easter story by being part of community events on Palm Sunday.  As a charity, we feel very privileged to be asked to return year-on-year to events which are of such great importance and significance to those who attend them.

“The welfare of the donkeys taking part is, as you would expect, of paramount importance to us.  Great care is taken in choosing donkeys to attend each event to make sure they remain comfortable and calm in unfamiliar situations such as churches and cathedrals or in the midst of large crowds.  They do us proud every year by displaying the characteristics that make donkeys such trusted and reliable companions and colleagues the world over.

“The image of the donkey as a beast of burden which the story portrays may seem quite alien to us here in the UK, where the only things we tend to see donkeys carrying are small children at our popular beach resorts.  However, in many of our project countries around the world we have seen families who simply could not survive without the essential loads that their donkeys carry.  In Ethiopia, for example, more than six million donkeys work really hard helping their owners earn a living by pulling ploughs or transporting heavy goods such as grain.  It is our mission to work with the owners of these hard-working donkeys and ensure that their welfare – as well as that of donkeys in our care here in the UK – is protected.”

To find out more about The Donkey Sanctuary’s work in the UK, Europe and overseas, please visit www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk.

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