St. Katherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church

The public worship of Almighty God that takes place with the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy is the duty and privilege of the Church in all her members. The Coronavirusthe Mysteries of Christ for the glory of the Father and (COVID-19) challenges us to celebrate our sanctification with reasonable limitations and in cooperation with directives from government and health officials to stem the spread of the virus. 

With this in mind the following directives have been issued by Archbishop Perez:

• The suspension of all public Masses in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia remains in force until 
  further notice.
• There will be no public celebration of Palm Sunday or of the Sacred Paschal Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil.
• Easter Sunday Mass is not to be celebrated publicly.

Please note that Palm, a sacramental rich in power to remind us all of Christ’s victory over sin and death, will be Blessed in private on Palm Sunday and will be made available to the Faithful at a later date. It will not be distributed in any fashion on Palm Sunday. 

The Archbishop and all concerned with the good of the Church and the care of Souls realizes the great sorrow that comes from such actions. However, since we are a people of Hope who believe in the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, we know that like Jesus, we will rise above this present situation and be more devoted to the practice of our faith. 

Our care for one another at this time demonstrates our belief in the words of Jesus in the 25th chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel, “Whatever you do for the least of your brothers (or sisters), that you do for me.”