As Massachusetts continues to see rising numbers of coronavirus cases, Boston's Catholic parishes are getting ready to take their Holy Week and Easter Sunday celebrations online and over the airwaves.
The Archdiocese of Boston said so Wednesday, a day after President Donald Trump said in a television interview that he is hoping to have the United States reopened by Easter and that "it would be great" to have all the churches full that Sunday.
That scenario is unlikely, a representative for the archdiocese said in a statement.
“It would be great if we could be able to welcome our people back into our churches by Easter," the representative said. "However, it appears increasingly likely that we will not be able to have any public celebrations during Holy Week and on Easter Sunday. We have advised our parishes to prepare for this scenario."
The statement continued: "If for some reason things change for the better we will adjust our plans. We do encourage Catholics to participate in Holy Week and Easter through CatholicTV."
The number of coronavirus cases in Massachusetts jumped by more than 600 Wednesday to 1,838, with four new deaths bringing the total to 15.
The archdioicese's parishes have already ended in-person Masses, restricted hours and limited visitors to 10 at a time, in keeping with public health guidelines aimed at staunching the spread of the coronavirus. They're already feeling the hardships of difficult communication, Bishop Mark O'Connell told NBC10 Boston.
"We love them we long for the day they’ll be back," he said.
