New Orleans Archdiocese Archbishop Gregory Aymond speaks to WWL First News for the first time since being diagnosed with COVID-19. He says despite the challenges the virus and social distancing has presented, the church is finding new ways to carry on services during this Holy Week and on Easter.
“No time in my life or certainly not in recent history have we ever had a Holy Week where we didn’t have public liturgies, so this is unprecedented, we are living in an unprecedented time,” said Archbishop Aymond.
“There will be (services) in all of our churches including the Cathedral, there will be masses on Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, a liturgy of the word on Good Friday, and an Easter Vigil,” said Aymond. “We will have those services but there will be no congregation or if there are a few people there it will be for specific reasons but it is important that we honor that we don’t want to spread the virus.”
Patrons can view the services live on WLAE TV or through online streaming on the Archdiocese Facebook page.
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He says a number of local priests have live-streamed their mass services but he says although he is excited about the opportunity technology has in this situation, it comes with some difficulty, “The difficulty is people are not able to receive communion and there is a real disappointment in that.”
He says there is a way for people to receive a ‘spiritual communion’ through prayer.
Aymond says because of the virus there will not be other church traditions that could spread coronavirus, “We will not do the ‘washing of the feet’ because of the possibility of transmitting germs. On Good Friday there will be few people in the church, a few ministers in church but very, very few. And there will be an unveiling of the cross but not a 'kissing of the cross', definitely not that.”He also says, the palms on Palm Sunday will not be laid out for the public, instead, they will be kept in the back of the church and given to people who want them.
Aymond who is also recovering from COVID-19 says he is doing fine, “Whenever we get sick it is just a reminder of our humanity and our weakness and we bare it.”