A Roman Catholic church in Texas has forever suspended public Masses after the death of one senior priest and the COVID-19 diagnoses of 5 others.
Rev. Donnell Kirchner, a 79- year-old priest from Houston’s Holy Ghost Church, passed away on May 13 after being identified with pneumonia, the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston validated in a statement Monday The archdiocese stated it was unclear whether Kirchner was checked for COVID-19 Holy Ghost Church’s website says there is a possibility that the priest contracted the infection before he passed away.
5 members of Kirchner’s religious order, the Redemptorists, evaluated positive for the illness over the weekend, the archdiocese said.
2 of the priests who checked positive have been helping to lead public Masses at Holy Ghost Church considering that the parish resumed on May 2. As of Monday, all five priests were asymptomatic and were quarantining with other members of the religious order at their shared house.
In light of these brand-new developments, the church canceled all Masses till additional notice and is motivating anybody who attended its in-person Masses to get checked for COVID-19
The archdiocese said the parish has actually “followed cleansing, sanitation and social distancing guidelines recommended by State health officials” and that presence has actually been “closely managed. The parish has a seating capability of about 900, however Sunday Masses have actually not surpassed 179 people given that May 2,” the archdiocese stated.
On May 1, Texas turned into one of the first U.S. states to raise parts of its stay-at-home order. The state has actually provided some minimum recommended procedures, churches and other houses of worship have been exempt from Gov. Greg Abbott’s limits on social gatherings.
The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston revealed on April 29 that its parishes might resume at 25?pability starting on May 2 while motivating using masks, social distancing and sanitizing frequently used surfaces. Each parish was instructed to “select if they wish to celebrate Mass, and how to adhere to state standards,” according to the archdiocese
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo also provided his approval for churches to begin providing the Sacrament of Confession again.
In mid-March, DiNardo dispensed, or exempted, Catholics in his archdiocese from the religious commitment to go to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days. The dispensation is still in effect, however DiNardo wrote in an April 29 letter that it is essential for worshippers to have access to