Reopening church

In Paul Turner's Blog by Paul Turner

Q: Thank you for all your helpful posts! I have learned so much from you.

We are anticipating that happy day when we can once again gather in God’s house for the Eucharist. Are there any prayers or rites for re-opening the doors after ‘time of plague’?

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A: Thanks for your comment about my blog.

We do not have a set of prayers or rites for reopening a church after a time of plague. But then we never had a mass in time of pandemic until the Vatican released one this week.

Upon returning, just celebrating the eucharist ought to be enough. If it’s a weekday in Ordinary Time, it would be appropriate to use one of the masses in thanksgiving from the back of the missal. Only a bishop can authorize the same mass for a Sunday in Ordinary Time, and I suspect many would.

At any mass, before beginning the eucharistic prayer, the priest may list reasons for giving thanks today.