Sunday Service: Churches Are Allowed To Restart In-Person Masses

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Parishioners were filing back into pews at Sacramento area churches on Sunday as in-person Masses were allowed to restart.

Plenty of changes like facemasks and deep cleanings are things that priests and parishioners are going to have to adjust to.

"It was a little bit sad because we're used to being so in a community and togetherness and it feels like we're so separated. But it felt good also," Guille Navarro, who attended Mass at Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament on Sunday, said.

"It's been three months since we were able to worship together in God's house so it was a wonderful experience," Manolito Jaldonto Jr., who also attended Mass, said.

But the director of Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in downtown Sacramento says the church is just glad to be giving the word of god in person again.

"A lot of sort of physical changes – one of them is wearing a mask," said Father Michael O'Reilly, director and pastor of the cathedral.

The restarting of in-person masses comes four months into the coronavirus pandemic.

The Sacramento Catholic Diocese allowed their parishes to reopen starting Sunday, with modifications. No more than 100 people are allowed inside at a time. There's social distancing with six feet between parishioners who aren't in the same household. And holding hands during prayer or signs of peace are not permitted.

Another safety measure that the cathedral is asking of their parishioners is contact tracing.

"First we get their information so we have contact tracing in case anything should happen and we get news of that, and they get their hands sprayed with sanitizer and they're escorted to pews," Father O'Reilly said.

Father O'Reilly said some people have been reluctant to give their information for contact tracing, but it's not a requirement for people to enter his church.

Others are doing so eagerly.

"I'm glad they're doing it. It means that they're actually trying to help everybody out just in case something happens, God forbid it," Dulce Jaldonto, who attended Mass, said.

"I'm all for that. Definitely. That's just protecting our community and protecting everybody that is gathered here all at once," Navarro said.

The Sacramento Catholic Diocese said that those who have underlying health conditions or are more vulnerable to COVID-19 are strongly encouraged to stay at home and continue to watch live-streamed services.