A podium and an altar will be constructed in the facility, according to the official German Protestant Church in the western city.

People will then be able to drive into the cinema and listen to the services over their car radios. Tickets, which are available for free online, will be scanned through car windows to reduce the risk of infection. Organizers say 500 cars can fit into the new cinema.

An ecumenical service will be held on Good Friday, followed by a Catholic Mass on Easter Sunday and a Protestant service on Easter Monday, a spokesman for the organizers told dpa. The initiative has been coordinated with city officials.

Easter is the most important Christian holiday, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

City Dean Frank Heidkamp told the Bild newspaper that the churches “can in this way be close to people over the Easter holidays.”

The drive-in cinema is opening this week to offer people “a distraction and joy” during the coronavirus pandemic and will operate in line with the safety regulations and social distancing rules that Germany has instituted to contain the disease’s spread.

“Offerings that allow a form of social togetherness are currently more important than ever,” Dusseldorf mayor Thomas Geisel said.