(Minghui.org) There is a small town called Oberammergau in southern Bavaria, Germany. It is located at the foot of the Alps, next to the bottom of a valley where the Ammer River flows. The town has an area of 30.06 square kilometers, with a population of 5,254 people. 

Although it is very small, this town has been famous for performing “The Passion of Christ” once every ten years. 

The history of the passion play dates back to the 17th century when Europe was struck by a devastating plague. Oberammergau was no exception, with one in ten of its residents dying of the plague. 

In 1633, a local Catholic priest, a devout believer, led the local people to make a pledge that if God showed mercy to his people and helped them through the disaster, they would host a performance about the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ once every ten years. 

A miracle happened, and since that day, no more people in the small town perished due to the Black Death.

To fulfill their vow, people in this small town performed a drama the next year, based on stories about Jesus Christ before and after the Crucifixion, and around 60 participated in the performance. 

Starting from 1634, the small town has hosted the drama “The Passion of Christ” once every ten years, and the tradition has been maintained to this date. 

Hundreds of years later, when the coronavirus pandemic has spread to almost every corner of the earth today, the small Bavarian town of Oberammergau still has yet to report a single case.

Pastor Thomas Groener believes it is no coincidence that the town has so far dodged the coronavirus bullet: “God helped the people back then. He saved them from the plague epidemic, spared them. That continues similarly to today,” according to an April 10, 2020 Reuters article titled “Bavarian town's 17th century vow has spared it from coronavirus, pastor says.”