Vancouver priest understanding, disappointed to have another Easter under restrictions
Posted April 3, 2021 1:19 pm.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Like many religious leaders, one pastor says he’s disappointed this easter weekend as indoor gatherings are restricted in B.C. due to the spike in COVID 19 cases.
Early this week, the province paused in-person gatherings and worship services as B.C. returns to tighter restrictions for religious services due to the recent rise in COVID-19 infections for approximately three weeks.
RELATED: Vancouver restaurant defying B.C. ban on indoor dining ordered to close
However, the restrictions fall on the holiest week for Christians where Father James Hughes with St. Patrick’s Parish says he had hoped to host indoor services by this time.
“But at the same time, we have to work within those restrictions, and I think a majority of people understand that it’s a very difficult time right now.”
Hughes says his church will continue with the outdoor in-vehicle services, which they’ve been able to host all winter long.
And he doesn’t believe the province’s clawback of services this week will damper people’s overall spirit.
“It’s been a blessing actually here at St. Patrick’s Catholic church we’ve been able to have outdoor mass actually every weekend since Christmas, and to be able to do so, we have a maximum of 50 cars as the provincial order states. So we’ll continue in that venture.
To attend the mass, congregants have to pre-register and remain in their cars at all times.
And for people without a vehicle, Hughes says they’ve set up live steam.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis urged his coronavirus-weary flock to not lose hope even through the continued “dark months” of the pandemic as he celebrated a scaled-back Easter vigil service in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday.
RELATED: Pope urges hope amid ‘darkness’ of pandemic in Easter vigil
In his homily, Francis said Easter offers a message of hope and new starts.
“In these dark months of the pandemic, let us listen to the risen Lord as he invites us to begin anew and never lose hope,” he said. “It is always possible to begin anew because there is a new life that God can awaken in us in spite of all our failures.”
– With files from Tim James
