MIAMI – The Archdiocese of Miami has notified its pastors in Miami-Dade and Broward counties that they may resume public masses on May 26.
The first Sunday masses with congregations will be celebrated on Pentecost Sunday, May 31.
Live-streamed masses will still be available, however, to protect those who are most vulnerable, including the elderly, sick and those with underlying health conditions that put them at high risk for complications from the novel coronavirus.
“Man was not made to live alone,” Archbishop Thomas Wenski said in an interview with Local 10 News. “We are social beings, and so, therefore, we need one another we need that contact with one another.”
There will be restrictions in place for those who choose to attend public masses, including:
- All worshipers will need to wear face masks and use hand sanitizers as needed.
- Capacity in the churches is based on social distancing of six feet per person/family or approximately 25-30% of normal capacity.
- People will be asked to follow directions for seating as well as for entry and egress from the church building.
- People will not hold hands during recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, nor will they exchange the Sign of Peace.
- Hymnals and missalettes will not be provided (though people can bring their own or access scripture readings by an app).
“I think it is time. I think that we have isolated and quarantined long enough,” said Steven Pizziol, a parishioner at Chutch of the Little Flower. “I think people need to figure out when is the best time for them to go to mass. Yeah we will have to make some changes, but we all have to accommodate in this new scenario we live in.”
Last week, Archbishop Wenski announced that the five parishes in the Florida Keys would be allowed to resume public masses beginning Monday.
“We are telling anybody that is sick to stay home,” Wenski said. “If you have the symptoms of a cold or a flu stay home.”
Click here for the latest updates from the Archdiocese of Miami.
RELATED LINK: The List: Worship services livestreaming amid coronavirus crisis