Miami Archbishop Reinstates In-Person Mass For Catholic Faithful

MIAMI, FL — Daily Masses in Miami-Dade and Broward counties will resume Tuesday for Miami-area Catholics, with the first Sunday services planned for the following weekend.

"If you are sick or have flu-like symptoms, stay home," cautioned Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami in a letter to parishioners. "If you are frail because of age or are vulnerable because of an underlying condition, or you are a caretaker of someone who is, it might be reasonable for you to stay home. If you are fearful, stay home."

Masses and other liturgical events were suspended in parish churches and other public sanctuaries on March 16 as Catholics were urged to attend online or televised services instead.

The nearby Diocese of Palm Beach plans to resume daily masses on May 25. "The parish church, not its chapel, will be the place for these celebrations," according to the Palm Beach diocese. "The protocols that will be utilized for Sunday Mass will also be observed for the celebration of daily mass."

Sunday masses will resume on May 31 with social distancing requirements in effect except for families and couples. Facemasks must also be work in church except when receiving communion.

"Appropriate hand sanitizers and safety wipes should be used," Palm Beach officials said. "One must be careful to sanitize hands after arriving in church, before reception of holy communion, and after leaving church. Care must also be taken not to touch one's face during the mass."

The first Sunday Masses in Miami-Dade and Broward counties will also coincide with Pentecost Sunday during the weekend of May 30-31.

Five parishes in the Florida Keys — St. Justin Martyr, Key Largo; San Pedro, Tavernier; San Pablo, Marathon; St. Peter, Big Pine Key; and the Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea, Key West — were permitted to resume daily Masses in Monroe County earlier this week, but that entire area remains shut down to nonresidents until June 1.

Livestream Masses will continue for the foreseeable future, according to archdiocesan officials. The obligation to attend Sunday Mass has been waived “indefinitely" for area Catholics.

"During Mass, please do not hold hands — for example, during the praying of the Lord's Prayer," Wenski urged. "While preaching or at the altar, the celebrant will not use a face mask, but he and other ministers will when they distribute Holy Communion."

Wenski asked parishioners to wear face masks even if they disagree with the need to wear them, "out of respect for, and charity towards, their fellow parishioners."

The archbishop left decisions on attendance up to individual parishioners. He said homebound Catholics could make arrangements through their parish rectory for sacraments to be brought to their homes.

"We do not live in a risk-free world," Wenski said. "There is a certain amount of risk we assume when we cross a street, or when we get in our cars to go to work or even to the corner store."

He said the new coronavirus has introduced new risks into our lives that will persist until a vaccine is available.

"Our civic authorities throughout the U.S. and the world are slowly unlocking the various jurisdictions under their control even while scientists and medical professionals continue to urge caution," Wenski told parishioners. "There is no substitute for good judgment."

Catholics who attend Masses in person will have to adhere to the following rules, according to the archdiocese:

• All worshippers must wear face masks and remove them only when receiving communion. Priests, deacons and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion must wear face masks while distributing communion but not while they are at the altar or preaching.
• Capacity in the churches is based on social/physical distancing of 6 feet per person/family or approximately 25-30 percent of normal capacity. Pastors may schedule additional Masses, use overflow rooms or create a “reservation system” to accommodate those who want to come to Mass.
• Social or physical distancing must be observed while entering and leaving the church and lining up for communion.
• Communion will only be given in the form of bread. “I am not mandating communion only in the hand — as communion on the tongue, if done properly, doesn’t involve touching the communicant or his/her tongue,” the archbishop told priests.
• People cannot hold hands while reciting the Lord’s Prayer. They will not exchange the sign of peace.
• There will be no offertory procession with gifts. There won't be any holy water at church entrances. Offertory baskets will not be passed around.
• Hymnals and missalettes will not be provided. Parishioners can bring their own or access scripture readings through an app.
• Hand sanitizer should be available at church entrances. Church surfaces (including pews, door handles and bathrooms) will be wiped down with disinfectant between Masses.
• Other parish activities and meetings (other than virtual meetings) remain suspended.