Ohio’s stay-at-home order remains in place through April 6 as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland and the world at large.
The Catholic bishops of Ohio made the decision earlier this month to suspend public celebrations of Mass/liturgies during the pandemic, dispensing Catholics from their obligation to attend Sunday Mass through Easter Sunday, April 12.
Although they recognize the gravity of the situation, many Catholics said they are distressed that they have been unable to participate in the usual Lenten liturgies. With Holy Week and Easter approaching, priests throughout the diocese are doing what they can to remain connected with their parishioners and to meet their spiritual needs during these difficult days.
Many parishes are offering livestreamed or recorded Masses – celebrated privately in keeping with the directives on public gatherings -- that can be viewed on the parish website, Facebook, YouTube and other platforms. Daily Mass is livestreamed at 9:30 a.m. Monday through Friday on the diocesan website from Mater Ecclesiae Chapel in the diocesan offices. The Mass also can be viewed on demand and there is a link to the daily readings and Liturgy of the Hours.
Continuing a longtime practice in the diocese, a television Mass is broadcast at 6 a.m. every Sunday on WJW Fox 8. The Mass is available on Saturday afternoon on the diocesan website and it is broadcast at 11:30 a.m. Sunday on Cox Cable channel 45.
In addition, a growing number of parishes are offering livestreamed or taped stations of the cross, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, the rosary and other devotions. Since the list of parishes continues to grow, it’s impossible to provide a complete rundown of what is being offered throughout the diocese. Parishioners should check their parish website, Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter feed or call the parish office for more information on what is being offered at their parish.
One new addition is the celebration of a Mass in Spanish at Sacred Heart Chapel in Lorain. Visit the parish website for more information.
Members of the clergy and others throughout the diocese also are reaching out by telephone, email, text messages and other platforms to stay in touch with parishioners and to check on the elderly, sick and others as the coronavirus health crisis continues.
People are reminded to follow the established health safety protocols including hand-washing, sneezing and/or coughing into a tissue or your arm near the elbow and keeping a social distance of six feet from other people in order to help curtail the spread of the virus. Click here to review the steps to prevent illness.
A previously published story that includes information on some additional radio and television Masses, rosary and other spiritual resources is available here.
Visit the public health page of the diocesan website for updated information on how the coronavirus is impacting the diocese, precautions to take to protect yourself and others from the virus and additional resources.