The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted so many lives. In the flickering glow of candlelight, a woman wearing a face mask leans forward to light a candle at the Stone Gate shrine in Zagreb — a place where the portrait of the Virgin Mary miraculously survived a fire in the 18th century.

Her gesture is quiet, deliberate, offered not for herself but for others: souls living and departed. Around her, the walls are covered in ceramic plaques inscribed with gratitude — “Hvala ti Majko,” “Thank you, Mother” — tokens of answered prayers and enduring faith.

Amid the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, this moment becomes a bridge between generations, between suffering and solace, between the seen and the unseen.