Masses Resume at Rosario Cathedral- 30 Parishioners Reserved their Seats Online to Attend Saturday Mass
Mangaluru: For the FIRST time in the history of Mangaluru Diocese, Catholic Faithful have to reserve their seats online in order to attend Mass at Rosario Cathedral, Mangaluru. With the Church open today for the 5.30 mass, only thirty parishioners were allowed inside the Church, who had booked their seats online. It may look strange, but in order to maintain social distancing and other guidelines pertaining to Covid-19 pandemic, the Church committee along with the parish priest have made all the required arrangements. Prior to entering the Church, the faithful have to sanitize their hands at a unique sensor controlled sanitize dispenser created by Lancy Crasta, the Church attender, followed by thermal screening and name verification.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Fr J B Crasta, the Parish Priest of Rosario Cathedral said, “As per the directives of the government and guidelines of Bishop of Mangaluru Dioceses- Most Rev Dr Peter Paul Saldahna, the Cathedral is now open for the Faithful after two and half months of lockdown. The parish pastoral Parishadh has formed a Parish Covid-19 safety committee and under the directions of the parish priest has made elaborate arrangements to accommodate Faithful for worship. The 14 wards of the parish have been divided into four groups to attend 4 Masses. One on Saturday and three on Sundays. The participants have to reserve their seat on line through google form”
ROSARIO CATHEDRAL-MANGALURU
“For the time being only the Parishioners are allowed to attend the masses. As they come to the Church, they have to verify their registration and sanitize their hands, proceed in to the church and occupy their allotted seat. There is separate entry and exit for the Faithful, and they are given instructions through public address system. For the time being the Church will continue with the present arrangements, until we are safe from Covid-19 scare. Parishioners have been requested to cooperate with the Church management” added Fr Crasta..
After a long break the church was open this evening, Saturday 13 June at 5.30 pm for the Faithful, and as symbolic gesture Rev Fr J B Crasta the Rector/parish priest of the Cathedral lighted the Diya along with Fr Flavian lobo, Assistant parish priest and Fr Rocky Fernandes- the principal of Rosario College. The Mass was offered by Fr Rocky Fernandes for the congregation, and two religious Sisters singing hymns. Today’s 30 parishioners who attended the FIRST mass after relaxation of Lockdown, which allowed Churches to open, belonged to the St Rita Ward, St Francis Xavier Ward and Nithyadhar Ward of the parish. On Sunday, 14 June, there will be three masses in the morning- 7 am ( 60 parishioners from 3 wards), 8.30 am ( 60 parishioners from 3 wards) and 9.30 am (60 parishioners from 4 wards) will attend masses.
Not many Churches were opened today, and Milagres Church will open only next weekend- and sources from Milagres Church reveal that- “Masses at Milagres Church begins on 20 June 2020. The diocesan directives allowed churches to open from today for religious services especially Sunday mass. (other services like sacraments of Baptism and Marriage and funeral rite were administered earlier with restricted numbers and without mass). Milagres being a centrally located parish our logistic challenges are a little different compared to parishes outside the city. The Bishop in his directives gave us an option to start masses either today 13 or on 20 June if we need more time to prepare. With the numbers restricted to 30% capacity of the church, we will have to plan out on how we can have a staggered gathering of the parish community (restricting for the time being any outside parishioner). We are trying our best to adhere to both the Government and Diocesan guidelines, which require careful planning and execution. We hope to come out of this situation soon and return to normalcy”.
Even inside Milagres Church, the pews have been removed and chairs have been arranged in order to maintain social distancing. St Anthony Ashram Jeppu celebrated their Feast today, where Bishop Rev Dr Peter Paul Saldanha, and also other clergy offered Holy mass, joined by the Director of the Asharam Fr Onil D’souza. St Aloysius College Chapel has also made suitable arrangements as per the guidelines issued by the govt and Bishop, and seating arrangement on the pew has been marked with numbers, to avoid faithful sitting close to each other. It is learnt that these guidelines have been framed in accordance as per the standard operating procedure (SOP) of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Union Health and Family Welfare to contain the Covid-19 spread.
Wearing mask, washing hands with sanitizer before entering the place of worship and maintaining at least two feet distance etc are mandatory for all shrines. Including Thermal screening to prevent entry of symptomatic persons and installing closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) to monitor the guidelines are being followed by all the authorities have been made mandatory. The norms allow churches to hold Sunday mass with social distancing by limiting the number of devotees inside and make arrangements for others to pray from around the church under shelter, Use of candles, sprinkling of water, use of liturgical books and hymnals are not allowed. It is also learnt that all the churches have been advised to live stream the masses to restrict devotees gathering in large numbers and violating the social distancing.
Bishop Rev Dr Peter Paul Saldanha offering Feast Mass of St Anthony Ashram-Jeppu
Bishop Rev Dr Peter Paul Saldanha had sent a circular to the parishes stating- “With public worship currently suspended due to the coronavirus lockdown, priests have been encouraged to start preparations to allow churches to safely reopen in accordance with social distancing measures in the diocese. It is directed that churches should only open on June 13 if preparations to follow the guidelines are ready. If not, parishes can take time for a week more and begin services with adequate preparations on June 20. Today, it is not the imperial edict that prohibits us from gathering for worship but the fear of the possibility of contagion of the deadly corona virus. Now, we are permitted to open the churches with Covid-19 safety measures and the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) given for our own protection by the government authorities. We are made responsible to protect ourselves and others when we come together to worship the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit”.
“Christian charity demands us to be attentive so that we do not become the cause of the spread of contagion. At the same time, we cannot deprive ourselves of the spiritual food for an indefinite period. Many have constantly asked us: When will the churches be opened so that we receive the Body and Blood of Our Lord as our spiritual food? We have formulated a few directives for our own safety and that of our brothers and sisters. In our diocese, the celebration of the Holy Eucharist on Sundays and weekdays can be resumed from 13 June 2020. However, the Parish Priests should ensure that the parish is adequately prepared to take care of all protective measures before opening the churches to the public for common worship. This matter has to be discussed in the Parish Pastoral Council and fulfill all the requirements so as to protect the faithful coming to worship the Lord. Nevertheless, those parish priests and parishes requiring more time to prepare themselves to comply with the operational norms and safety protocols, should do the needful with all earnest and begin celebrating the Holy Eucharist in their churches from June 20 ” added Bishop. Click on the link for Pastoral Guidelines on resumption of masses-( PASTORAL GUIDELINES ON THE RESUMPTION OF PUBLIC MASSES )