Coronavirus: Bishop calls for church bells to ring out on St Patrick’s Day at 11am

A Catholic bishop has called for church bells to be rung across the island of Ireland at 11am tomorrow as a St Patrick’s Day expression of social solidarity in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

Bishop of Waterford and Lismore Phonsie Cullinan said that “ringing of church bells is a call to prayer – wherever you are – and a reminder of the faith that has sustained the people of our island throughout the centuries. The bell ringing is also an expression of social solidarity, an encouragement to care for one other, and for all of us to be inspired and remain hopeful at the difficult time.”

He said that “to celebrate our national patron, bells in the cathedral in Waterford and across the diocese in parish churches will be rung across 11am this St Patrick’s Day” and “invited other bishops to have church bells rung at 11am across their dioceses on our national feast day.”

Meanwhile, Masses in the diocese of Waterford and Lismore “will not be cancelled but will take place without the congregation physically present, therefore no public Masses,” Bishop Cullinan said.

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Priests would continue to “celebrate daily Mass offering it up for your intentions and indeed for the whole country,” he said, while “churches will remain open as usual for prayer.”

Public celebration of Mass in the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly (with the exception of funeral Masses and those at marriages which comply with the maximum attendance of 100) is suspended until and including Sunday, March 29th, Archbishop Kieran O’Reilly has said.

Priests there would “continue to remember the needs of parishioners at Mass celebrated privately,” he said, and encouraged parishioners “to visit their local church for prayer, and also to pray at home: praying for the sick, for those who are caring for the sick and for all who are working so hard to protect us.”

Archbishop of Tuam Michael Neary has requested that “all Masses with congregations in parishes within the archdiocese” be cancelled. “For the time being, I am urging all parishes with webcams, and parishes with radio facilities, to utilise broadcast technology to its maximum effect,” he said.

Churches there too would remain open, he said. “As priests and bishops we are challenged to be ministers of hope. We are acutely alert to the great test facing our people which can manifest itself as a sense of helplessness, of a world running out of control.” By keeping churches open “priests can provide a reassuring presence when people come to pray and be in solidarity with them at this time,” he said.

He also advised his priests to “take care of yourselves, especially our priests challenged by health issues which complicates matters for them and their families at this time.”

In something of a divergence from other Catholic bishops where Masses are concerned, Bishop of Ferns Denis Brennan has pointed out that “weekday Masses, weddings, funerals and baptisms may be celebrated once the requirement that attendance in church does not exceed 100 people is respected.”

However, “parishioners who have symptoms of coronavirus are asked not to present themselves at church” he said, and “while in church and as far as possible people are asked to keep a safe distance from one another, in keeping with current advice.”

Confirming that all Sunday Masses in Limerick too would be cancelled up to and including March 29th, Bishop Brendan Leahy said this was necessary “as the church puts its shoulder behind the national effort to protect the elderly and those with underlying health conditions.”

“As a nation we have met and got beyond challenges before but have done so with some pain and sacrifice. There will be pain and sacrifice in this instance too. There will be disruption and, sadly, there will be loss. But if we stick together, if we observe the measures outlined yesterday, we will minimise that loss,” he said.

He was also “very conscious of healthcare workers at this time. They are offering us a wonderful selfless service and need our prayer and support. Let’s be creative in the ways we send them messages of encouragement and thanks.”

Catholic Bishop of Ossory Dermot Farrell said “the severity of the situation calls us to be with each other in new and different ways rather than being entrapped by our usual ways of thinking and behaving.” He said that “these days and weeks are a time for us to be in prayerful solidarity with each other.”

In Raphoe diocese Bishop Alan McGuckian has announced that, as well as Masses with congregations on Sundays and weekdays being cancelled, so too are “Station or house Masses”. Priests there “will offer Mass each day for the intentions of their community,” he said.