Church doors opened a crack for small congregations

By Peter Finney Jr., Christine Bordelon and Beth Donze
Updated on May 1, 2020

As soon as Archbishop Gregory Aymond gave pastors the green light on April 27 to celebrate daily and weekend Masses with congregations of up to 10 people, the pastoral push was on to bring people back inside the church so that they could receive the Eucharist.

At St. Benilde Church in Metairie, Father Matthew Johnston first saw the electronic memo from Archbishop Aymond just past 8 p.m. on Monday, and after discussing it with a couple of parish leaders, he posted a Google Doc containing a fluid sign-up sheet on the parish’s Facebook page.

By Tuesday morning, there were 10 people attending the 9 a.m. Mass. The hunger for the Eucharist is that strong, Father Johnston said.

“I don’t think I can give proper justice to it to describe the joy that somebody has when they are able to receive Jesus again,” he said. “I can’t say I understand what they have been going through because I’ve been celebrating Mass and receiving Communion. For a large percentage of these people, this is the longest eucharistic fast they've had since first Communion.”

Around the Archdiocese of New Orleans, more parishes have begun welcoming back the small congregations while remaining in alignment with the state’s restrictions against large public gatherings as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus.

Father Joseph Man Tran, pastor of St. Matthew the Apostle Parish in River Ridge, said just a day after his parish posted a similar Google Doc on its regular email to parishioners, most of the slots to attend Mass for the coming week were snapped up, and there were very few slots available for the following week.

“They really appreciate what we’re doing,” Father Tran said. “We even gave out missalettes so that they could follow the livestreamed Masses from home. They have really stayed in touch with their priests. At every Mass, I say, ‘Masses are not the same without parishioners. I miss you.’”

Father Tran and his parochial vicar, Father Francis Offia, have taken pictures  of themselves pointing at the church doors, and they have told parishioners that “hopefully, in the near future, we will welcome you. We long for that day!”

Dawn Fitzsimmons, parish coordinator at St. Matthew the Apostle, said she actually borrowed the Google Doc sign-up sheet from St. Benilde, sending out the notice first through Mail Chimp, then posting the doc on the parish website and finally on the parish’s Facebook page.

“Hopefully, it reached the faithful who really feel comfortable going to Mass and receiving their Communion,” Fitzsimmons said. “Both sets of weekend and Sunday Masses are full. I saw a couple of ladies at our first Mass who were so glad to get Communion.”

Metairie church adds Masses

St. Catherine of Siena in Metairie, one of the largest parishes in the archdiocese, added five more Masses to its regular schedule to try to accommodate more people. The extra Masses are being celebrated Saturday at 5:30 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m., and Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

“We wanted to get as many people receiving the Eucharist as possible,” Father Hedrick said.

Within hours of the Mass attendance slots being made available on the parish website (www.scschurch.com), they were filled. Signup forms for the week of May 9-15 will be posted by May 6 at noon.

Father Hedrick said this reflects Catholics’ hunger for Mass and receiving  the Eucharist.

“Look at the number of people who came out in huge numbers to receive a special blessing and how quickly people have signed up for Mass,” he said. “On any given Sunday, we have 800 watching live and 3,000 people watching the recording afterwards. On Easter Sunday, we had 3,500 views after the live Mass, and 900 people who watched it live.

“People are ready to come back to Mass,” Father Hedrick said. “People want to come back to Mass. Their argument is, ‘If I can go to Costco, why can’t I go to Mass?’ They see it as essential.”

In speaking with people about their experiencing Mass at home, Father Hedrick said some like the convenience factor but miss being with the community and receiving the Eucharist.

To calm fears of those who might be hesitant to step into the church now, St. Catherine hired a professional company to clean all 36 rows of pews (seating capacity of 1,000) and the carpet.

Father Hedrick also is requiring Massgoers to enter by the side parking lot door and wear a mask. Families are asked to stay in one pew, be mindful of social distancing while standing in line for Communion, receive Communion by the hand and give a nod or smile for the sign of peace.

Father Hedrick is hoping that Gov. Edwards lifts the restrictions on the number of people who can attend in a few weeks. Once the complete ban is lifted, Masses will return to their regular schedule.

“We give thanks to God for this opportunity to worship together again as a community within the church,” Father Hedrick said. 

At St. Matthew, Father Tran said he hopes the fasting from Mass will produce an even deeper love for the Eucharist.

“I think people will be more appreciative and not be taking for granted the way we worship,” Father Tran said. “I think whenever we gather for worship (again), we will worship with a different attitude and with a more lively faith.”

Father Johnston said the return to normal congregations will be a great spiritual milestone.

“I would love to start having people here,” he said. “You can only enjoy preaching to a camera for so long.”

Names of Mass congregants posted on church doors at Holy Family, Luling

Father Stephen Dardis, pastor of Holy Family Church in Luling, said his parish’s transition to the small public Masses has been relatively seamless – because many parishioners already were using a SignUpGenius account during quarantine to schedule their daily adoration time. When ‘small-gathering’ liturgies were permitted during Holy Week, parishioners used the same online process to sign up for the 10-congregants-only Mass slots.

“That helped us form habits and expectations about seating arrangements and wiping the pews and doors,” Father Dardis said. “We (also) limited Mass sign-up to only once each week, per person, to leave room for others. The names are posted daily on the church doors; people are respectful of the situation and only enter Mass if their name is on the list."
 
Father Dardis said this pandemic-forced training has meant that many of his parishioners already are cognizant and repectful of the rules of social distancing inside church. With six feet approximately equivalent to two rows of pews, Holy Family has been asking visitors to go even further by keeping three pews between them at all times, including when in line for Communion. Those living in the same household may share a pew. 

”In preparation for larger gatherings later on, however, participants will not only sign up for their day, but also for their section in church – which will be limited to 15 to 20 people per section," Father Dardis said. “They’ll arrive to church already knowing which section they’re sitting in and which entrance to use.”
 
Steps at Holy Family to promote optimal hygiene include washing hands before and after Mass and placing hand sanitizer on the credence table and in the sacristy, Father Dardis said. Since the beginning of the lockdown, signs were posted asking visitors to wipe down pews and door handles as a condition for their entrance. The church provided wipes, Lysol and paper towels for these tasks.

”The Communion line also passes by a table where an usher offers additional hand sanitizer as an extra precaution,” Father Dardis said, expressing his gratitude to volunteers who have stepped up to help clean the main areas of the church.
 
Congregants are also being encouraged to wear a mask while inside church, and ministers are required to mask themselves during the distribution of Communion.
 
“We give a simple reminder before Mass that there is to be no physical contact during holy Communion and try to illustrate (how to receive),” Father Dardis said, noting that he also tries to reinfore the current optionality of the sign of peace.

“We do not announce it, but rather move into the ‘Lamb of God,’” he said.

Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at pfinney@clarionherald.org and Christine Bordelon at cbordelon@clarionherald.org.