Catholic worshippers return as Diocese of Greensburg resumes public Masses

Before the covid-19 shutdown, Ruth Morelli on three or four days a week found her way to weekday Mass at St. James Roman Catholic Church in New Alexandria.

“It really is my second family,” the Blairsville resident said. “After things closed, my husband and I would watch Mass online most days. And I’ve had contact with people through cards and phone calls. But that really isn’t the same thing.”

On Monday, Morelli’s family was back together for again for an 8 a.m. service as public worship resumed in churches across the Diocese of Greensburg for the first time in 11 weeks.

Sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows as 17 masked parishioners quietly found their way into the church.

“How good it is to be able to gather together,” Monsignor Larry Kulick, pastor of St. James, greeted the worshippers.

Kulick reflected on the events of what he termed “a fast” from public worship.

While he celebrated Mass daily in the empty church and streamed online prayers, life went on in the community.

During the pandemic, six parishioners died — including the parish’s oldest member, Jennie Mazzoni. She is believed to have been one of the early victims of covid-19.

“She would have been 96 in July,” Kulick said of the woman who died in a local nursing home.

Funerals were limited to 10 people.

Palm Sunday and Easter passed. First Communions and confirmations were postponed.

But Monday, the first small group of the faithful was back.

The close-knit group that used to gather for coffee after weekday Mass celebrated the church’s annual memorial to the Virgin Mary and the seventh anniversary of the ordination of Ruth Morelli’s son, the Rev. Matthew Morelli, pastor of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Indiana County.

They chanted the ancient liturgy, sang their alleluias, recited the Lord’s Prayer and communed in a Mass that reflected a new normal.

Every other pew in the sanctuary that seats about 320 was taped off. Lines on the center aisle marked the 6-foot measures for social distancing. Hymnals and prayer missals were removed from pews to make it easier to observe strict standards of sanitation.

Confessionals were taped shut. Provisions were made to take confessions in the church education building after the staff at St. James determined there was no way to use the booths and meet social distancing guidelines.

The diocese also suspended the practice of sharing wine from a common cup during communion in an effort to limit the possibility for sharing the virus.

And parishioners exchanged the Sign of Peace, normally observed with handshakes and hugs, with a wave or nod toward fellow worshippers in distant pews.

“Sharing the sign of peace that way seemed a little odd. The touching, feeling part was gone,” Roxanne Rouse, of New Alexandria, said as she left after worship.

But she agreed with her husband, Jeffrey, that it was nice to see their friends back at worship.

Although the building was closed, Kulick said the work of the church continued through the pandemic.

In addition to streaming daily services, he remained in contact with members through email, phone calls, social media and letters.

“We were always considered an essential service, but we felt we had a moral obligation to keep our people safe,” Kulick said of the decision to close.

He said parishioners seemed grateful for that approach.

Kulick said offerings at St. James have remained at pre-pandemic levels. When members were asked to contribute $19,000 for the annual Diocesan Lenten Appeal, they responded with $81,000.

“It was an historic Lenten Appeal,” Kulick said.

The online services also proved popular.

The October count — the annual count of parishioners in the pews across the diocese — had about 34,000 people. “And at one point in the height of the pandemic, we pushed over 100,000 physical people present online,” Kulick said. “People who may not have normally been in the pews were praying along with us.”

He said church officials have estimated that St. James can safely seat about 50 to 60 people and still observe social distancing.

The parish has trained special ministers of hospitality to step in should the count at any Mass exceed that, Kulick said

And St. James, which normally hosts weekday Mass as well as a 4:30 p.m. Mass on Saturdays and one at 9:30 a.m. Sundays, will revise its schedule to include two Sunday Masses — one at 8 a.m. and a second at 10 a.m.