From Pope Francis
This Friday, March 27 Pope Francis will give an extraordinary blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city and the world) at 6 p.m. Rome time, 10 a.m. local time. This is a special blessing we want everyone to know about. Please share this with your parishioners. Read more about it here.
Additionally, Pope Francis encourages everyone to pray the Lord’s Prayer at noon on Wednesday, March 25 saying, “Let's stay united. Let us make those who are alone and tested feel our closeness.”
From Archbishop Etienne on Holy Week
As the situation with Covid-19 continues to unfold, it has become clear that we will not be able to gather to celebrate Holy Week in our churches. Acknowledging our need to keep people safe, and in keeping with the instructions we received recently from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in Rome, I want to alert you to the following changes for Holy Week of 2020.
- The Rites of Christian Initiation of Adults will NOT take place at the Easter Vigil. As soon as possible, a new date will be set for the celebration of these important rites across the Archdiocese.
- Communion Services or “drive-by” communion is not permitted. All the faithful of the Archdiocese of Seattle are asked to make their “Easter Communion” as soon as we are free to gather together again.
- On Palm Sunday, blessed palms may not be distributed. If desired, a priest may bless palms for distribution to the parish later on, when restrictions on gathering have been lifted.
- The Chrism Mass will be delayed until later in the year when we can all gather together again.
- On Good Friday, there may be no public celebrations of the Way of the Cross, “Living Stations,” etc, whether indoors or outdoors, which could draw a crowd. If open hours are offered for people to visit churches, pastors are asked to ensure that all norms are followed and that people are invited to venerate the cross without touching it.
These are unprecedented circumstances these guidelines are provided in an abundance of caution, to keep our community safe.
PRF Emergency Loan
We recognize the uncertainty and strain this current situation is having on our parishes and schools. Therefore, we’ve developed the PRF Emergency Loan Program for your immediate needs. Please read more about it here.
Insurance and Coronavirus
Many of you have had questions about insurance. We reached out to our risk management experts for answers to the most pressing topics. Please read more about it here.
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