Catholics rejoice as public Masses resume in Rome with safety precautions
.- As Rome reopened shops and restaurants on Monday, Catholics rejoiced in being able to attend Mass again for the first time in 10 weeks after Masses were first closed to the public.
“To receive Communion again as a family was the culmination of our every prayer and desire during the quarantine,” Melissa Steele told CNA on May 18.
Steele, an American mother of five residing in Rome, attended Mass with her family at the Church of St. Joseph of Cupertino, where she said hand sanitizer was provided at the door and the priest came to each pew to administer Communion.
“For the past two weeks, our children, especially our not-typically-pious three-year-old twins have been increasingly discontented with virtual Mass and were begging to ‘go to Mass and pray with Jesus.’ So this date of May 18 was a long-awaited one by our family. It was a simple Mass but glorious,” she said.
Churches and papal basilicas reopened to the public for Mass May 18 with additional safety protocols to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
At St. Peter’s Basilica, volunteers from the Order of Malta conducted temperature checks before people could enter the security line, where there are now markings on the ground indicating how far apart people must stand.
Face masks are now required to enter the basilica, and security stationed throughout St. Peter’s Square have been enforcing social distancing requirements. Inside the basilica Eucharistic adoration, confession, and Masses are once again available to the public
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